The exhibition "Defending Freedom" highlights the tumultuous events of the recent past – the European aspirations of Ukrainians, which were hindered by the policies of President Yanukovych and his entourage, materialized into Euromaidan, which soon escalated into the Revolution of Dignity and Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the choice of its people.

November 21, 2013 – the start of protest actions on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv; subsequently, the protest spread to all regional centers of Ukraine, including Chernivtsi. The exhibition reconstructs episodes of the struggle on Kyiv's Maidan, in which many of our compatriots participated; two of them – V. Aksenin and O. Shcherbaniuk – died from sniper bullets, becoming angels of the Heavenly Hundred.

The fall of the Party of Regions government and Yanukovych's flight unleashed Russian aggression against Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. During February – March 2014, Russia seized and annexed Crimea; also, during April, having occupied parts of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, it proclaimed the so-called "DNR" and "LNR" there. Thus, the war in eastern Ukraine was unleashed.

In eastern Ukraine, a defense line was established by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and volunteer formations. The fiercest battles took place in Ilovaisk (August 2014), Donetsk Airport (May 2014 – January 2015), Luhansk Airport (April – September 2014), Debaltseve (January – February 2015). Visitors are presented with a fragment of a dugout and paintings by I. Kalenchuk, a participant in the events; belongings and documents of D. Katolyk, a defender of Luhansk Airport and former employee of the Chernivtsi Regional Museum of Local Lore; documents and photos of military chaplain V. Hasynets, military surgeon V. Trepko, who died near Debaltseve; and ATO veteran V. Nosachov, an employee of the Chernivtsi Regional Museum of Local Lore.

The exhibition reflects the activities of volunteers who, from the first days of the war, created a reliable rear for the Ukrainian army – collecting material and financial aid, preparing and sending food to the front, and organizing treatment for the wounded abroad: among many notable figures, it is worth mentioning R. Shliusar, who died while transporting humanitarian aid, H. Abramyuk, a participant in Chernivtsi Maidan, and others.

On February 24, 2022, the Russian military aggression, which began eight years prior, escalated into an open and full-scale phase, bringing new casualties and destruction to all of Ukraine.