Georgian President’s Tbilisi residence illuminated in Ukraine colours on war anniversary
The Georgian Presidential Palace in central Tbilisi is illuminated in the national colours of Ukraine. Photo: President’s press office
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The Georgian Presidential Palace in central Tbilisi was on Thursday illuminated in the national colours of Ukraine to mark the anniversary of the country’s ongoing defence from the Russian invasion.
In another symbolic move to mark the date, the President's office also exhibited a canvas entitled Noli Me Tangere (“Touch Me Not”), produced by the New York-based Georgian artist Levan Songulashvili on the topic of the conflict.
Слава Україні ???????? pic.twitter.com/SZKXfRpZ8z
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) February 23, 2023
The press office noted President Salome Zourabichvili’s decision on using the canvas for the commemoration had been inspired by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso's decision to exhibit his powerful anti-war work Guernica at the Paris World Expo in 1937, following the bombing of the Basque town of Guernica by the Nazis during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War.
The work was the only one at the Paris World Expo [that was] telling the human tragedy of the war”, the President’s Administration said.
The Russian invasion, launched on February 24, 2022, has left at least 7,199 civilians dead and thousands injured, according to official United Nations estimates, but actual figures are expected to be much higher. Over 13 million have been made refugees or displaced internally in the country.
United States agencies have estimated at least 100,000 of Russian and Ukrainian troops killed or injured in the fighting.