The Ukrainian Cultural Forces’ headquarters is situated above a non-descript shopping centre not far outside downtown Kyiv. The walls are covered in artwork and photographs, sculptures are dotted about; the initial impression is of a university arts department, though with more security and military figures.

Officially part of the Ukrainian Army, though independently set up and run, the Cultural Forces employs artists, musicians, publishers and data analysts. They are something between an artistic collective, an information operations unit and a wartime parallel to the UK’s British Council. Their remit is broad and continually expanding. Part of the Cultural Forces tour the battlefront and hospitals in small mobile groups, delivering musical concerts to soldiers and civilians, creating beautiful art in war-torn regions, and keeping their finger on the pulse of frontline morale.

As Ukrainian soldiers hold off the Russian military with rifles, artillery and drones, the Cultural Forces fight back by creating art in defiance of the invader

As Ukrainian soldiers hold off the Russian military with rifles, artillery and drones, the Cultural Forces fight back by creating art in defiance of the invader

Similar groups operate worldwide in order to raise awareness and gather donations for the Ukrainian war........

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