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Maxim Kildarov works among the reminders of death – scorched metal, torn clothing, and the personal debris of lives lost to war.
In a basement near Kiev’s Maidan Square, a Ukrainian street artist has assembled a grim collection of battlefield remains that together form an unofficial record of Russia’s invasion.
Rocket launch tube sitting near one’s diary Russian intelligence officer; Captured Russian uniforms hang from the dark walls; Thousands of military patches – symbols of unit pride, defiance and dark humor – cover the display boards in a riot of colors.
For Kildarov, who fought for 55 days under Russian occupation in Novaya Kakhovka in southern Ukraine, the objects are evidence of a war he says should not be defined solely by official narratives.
Currently an invitation-only exhibition, they plan to convert the site into a museum showcasing the gravity of the war.
“I don’t want it to feel like a typical museum where you walk through five halls with the same collection,” he said. “I want a hall that focuses on everything – so that when people suddenly find themselves surrounded by these objects they feel emotion.”
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Kildarov has collected artifacts through military contacts, trades, and personal recovery following nightly air strikes on Ukrainian cities.
What began in his home turned into a dense collection of captured Russian documents and passports, helmets, weapons pieces, knives, grenades, and night-vision gear. A martyr decoy drone hangs overhead styrofoam,
The most personal items include a smartphone pierced by shrapnel, which saved a soldier’s life, military unit flags black sea Operations, pictures of soldiers and half-filled packets of cigarettes.
Kilderow’s visual style – doodle-like calligraphy concealing symbols and messages of resistance – runs throughout the space.
The 5-meter painting, titled “55”, is a maze of colorful lines and symbols representing the number of days he spent in business. During that time, he helped organize underground support networks, chronicle life under Russian control, and spray-paint abandoned Russian vehicles with their symbols in acts of defiance.
“From day one we started sharing information with people inside the city and the outside world,” he recalls. “By the 55th day, I managed to escape.”
After fleeing the West, Kilderow organized exhibitions of his work, often using blown-up QR codes linking to videos recorded in 2022. He designs military patches, creates art on battlefield debris and sells rocket tubes converted into Bluetooth speakers, and donates most of the proceeds to military units.
As Ukraine goes through its fourth winter of war, he says he is troubled by the return of inequality and division in a society that was once bound by urgency and shared purpose.
As he spoke to The Associated Press, he wore a red MAGA hat — a gesture he described as intentionally ironic, reflecting the vulnerability of a country dependent on foreign aid that could be stopped or withdrawn without warning.
In KyivHis rented basement has become a gathering place for soldiers who bring new artifacts and stories, expanding a collection he sees as a raw record of Ukraine’s lived reality – and of the solidarity he fears may fade.
“When Russia attacked Kiev, people picked up rifles and went to fight,” he said. “I hope we get back to that unity.”
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Volodymyr Urtyuk and Dan Bashakov in Kiev contributed to this report.