Word of welcome at the opening of the exhibition of Old Masters from Kyiv, Khanenko museum in the Bredius museum, 18 June 2025

Your Excellency, Galyna Grygorenko (First Deputy Minister for Culture, Ukraine),

Excellencies,

Distinguished guests,

Good afternoon everyone,

Let me leave it at that, so that I don’t have to name all the high representatives of our countries, cities, museums and the Dutch armed forces. I will make one exception, however, for Yuliia Vaganova, Director-General of the Khanenko museum, who I had the pleasure of meeting in Kyiv exactly a year ago today: Welcome Yuliia.

We owe it to the opening of the special exhibition “Old Masters from Kyiv to The Hague” that we are here together today. A selection from the collection of 17^th century Dutch and Flemish works assembled by the couple Bhodan and Varvara Khanenko. This opening is taking place precisely one year after my visit to the Khanenko museum for the exhibition of work from The Hague School. Important pieces from the collection of Willem-Jan Hoogsteder that were exhibited there in Kyiv, despite the war. Once again, my admiration for that gesture.

It is wonderful that the Bredius museum in The Hague was able to do something positive to protect Ukrainian cultural treasures by ‘taking in’ the Khanenko museum. Even more so now that we know that the collector, Abraham Bredius, visited Kyiv and must have met the Khanenko couple there. There could be no better illustration of the bond between our countries and cultures. A connection which is further deepened by this exhibition here today.

Let it be a source of support for the people of Ukraine, who have suffered under Russia’s aggression for more than three years now, but who can still count on our unwavering support.

Slava Ukraini.