A Ukrainian woman from Russia-attacked Chuguev, whose bloody face was featured in the news of most of the world's media and became a symbol of the war in Ukraine, returned to work. After eye surgery in Poland, where she barely managed to escape after the start of a large-scale invasion, Elena Kurilo began to teach art to refugee children, writes The Times.

As a result of the shelling of her house, a 52-year-old woman received numerous shrapnel wounds, including her right eye.. After the attack, when she went down from her house to the street, she was recorded by photographer Wolfgang Schwan.

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A post shared by Wolfgang Schwan (@wolfgang_schwan).

Subsequently, this picture inspired the creation of a painting by another artist, Zhenya Gershman. The painting titled “The First Face of War: An Intimate Portrait of a Ukrainian Teacher” managed to sell over time for $100,000.. It was decided to send the proceeds to the Ukrainian Red Cross.

Due to continuous shelling, the woman could not evacuate for some time and I lived in the basement of my hut outside the city. Subsequently, the truck driver offered to give him a lift to the Kharkov railway station, from where he managed to leave for Poland..

In Katowice, Kurilo managed to find shelter, she underwent surgery, during which the doctors managed to partially restore her vision.. Having recovered a little, the woman, who is a choreographer by profession, initiated art classes for refugee children who also ended up in a neighboring country..

“When I do this, I forget that I am out of the house and my worries disappear.. Children give me a joy that I have not experienced since the beginning of the war,” she notes..

Recall that the French artist created a series of collages dedicated to the war in Ukraine. The references of the works were paintings by Edouard Manet, Edward Gopper, William Margetson, Bartolome Murillo, etc..