2022 in pictures: Ukraine crisis as seen from Romania, David Popovici's many wins & the return of events & festivals
From the impact of the war in Ukraine to the achievements of Romanian athletes and top events, we look back at some of the main moments of the year in photos.
As Russia invaded Ukraine in February, refugees fleeing the war started arriving in neighboring countries, including Romania. Three major border points were used: Sighetu Marmatiei, Siret (northeastern Romania) and Isaccea (eastern Romania). In Sighetu Marmatiei, in northern Romania, a wooden bridge over the river Tisza was turned into a "toys' bridge" after the local border police workers, and other locals brought toys and spread them across the bridge for Ukrainian child refugees.
In Bucharest, Gara de Nord train station, the city's largest one, became the main transit points for Ukrainians crossing the country. The state-owned railway operator CFR Călători offered free transportation to Ukrainians, many of whom departed for Budapest and further destinations in Europe.
The Bucharest Inspectorate for Emergency Situations set up a point for refugees, while various NGOs worked on site to provide various services.
The central pavilion of the exhibition and convention center Romexpo, in the northern part of the city, was turned this spring into an accommodation center for Ukrainian refugees. The center, which can host 2,000 people, was meant as a backup to the 4,300 places available in the city to refugees.
The center was also visited by then prince Charles, who met with refugees who fled the war in Romania's northern neighbor and saw the response of the local authorities, and of the various NGOs and volunteers working to support Ukrainian refugees.
The royal was in Romania to launch Europe's largest cross-border forest restoration project. The project involves more than 100 forest science and practice organizations in 20 countries and includes 12 large-scale forest restoration demonstration sites across Europe. One of the sites is located in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains and is funded by the prince's Circular Bioeconomy Alliance.
His visit was one of many high-profile ones over the past year, among them that of the United States VP Kamala Harris met with president Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest and reassured the country of the US's commitment to NATO's article 5.
In May, Jill Biden, the first lady of the United States, started her brief European tour in Romania, attending several events in Bucharest and Constanța. She visited the Mihail Kogălniceanu military base, close to Constanța, where she met the American soldiers stationed there. In Bucharest, she met with the Romanian president's wife, Carmen Iohannis, and the two visited a Bucharest school where Ukrainian children displaced by the war were talking classes and talked to them and their families.
In April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Romania's Parliament and presented the horrific crimes committed by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians in the regions around Kyiv. He said Russia must be stopped and that he was confident that Romanian companies would participate in Ukraine's reconstruction programs after the war was over.
Two months later, in June, president Klaus Iohannis visited Kyiv alongside French president Emmanuel Macron, German chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi. There, they visited the suburbs bombed by the Russian invaders and met Ukraine's president Volodimir Zelenskyy. At a joint press conference with the European leaders in Kyiv, Iohannis argued in favor of granting EU candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, which he deemed "key to building a strong and lasting shield around our common values."
Young Romanian swimmer David Popovici was the star of Romanian sports this year, having won no less than 14 medals this year and breaking several records. At the European Aquatics Championships in Rome, he won the gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m competitions. In the 100 m final, he set a new world record after he swam the distance in 46.86 seconds, breaking a 13-year-old record belonging to Brazilian Cesar Cielo Filho. In the 200 m final, he set a new junior world record as he finished just under 1:43 and improved his previous result.
2022 also brought the end of the pandemic-related restrictions and many festivals and events returned to their usual format. We are one, the first to take place in Bucharest since the lifting of the Covid-19 restrictions was a March benefit concert for Ukraine, which raised more than EUR 750,000. The proceeds from the event, headlined by Armin van Buuren and Tom Odell, went to the Romanian Red Cross.
Also in Bucharest, the Open Streets event, which closes certain arteries to car traffic to make room for pedestrians, was held outside of the city's central area for the first time.
(Opening photo: Sliviu Filip/ Inquam Photos)
simona@romania-insider.com
