On the night of the first day of spring, as a result of Russian drone attacks on Kharkiv, several buildings of the National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute” (NTU “KhPI”) were significantly damaged.
Among the affected structures was one of the architectural treasures of Kharkiv — our magnificent Scientific and Technical Library. The blast wave shattered windows and doors. The historic Chemistry Building also suffered damage.

The explosion left behind a trail of broken glass, shattered ceramic tiles, and destroyed elements that once brought beauty and comfort to students and faculty.

But even from these fragments, it is possible to create a work of art — a reminder of the beauty and resilience of our university. We were inspired by the work of Valentyna Huk, a Kharkiv artist who creates unique mosaics from glass shattered by shelling. She installs her art in the very places that were damaged. Her pieces are not just beautiful; they tell a story of rebirth and resilience of our city.
You can view her work here: https://kanaldim.tv/proyekt-derevo-zhyttya-harkivska-hudozhnyczya-stvoryuye-mozayiky-z-ulamkiv-rozbytogo-obstrilamy-skla/.
Three of our professors — Olena Fedorenko (Head of the Department of Ceramics, Refractories, Glass, and Enamels Technology), Oksana Borysenko, and Viktoriya Taranenkova — created a mosaic panel dedicated to our Institute of Chemical Technologies and Engineering (IHTI), using fragments of glass, mirrors, ceramic tiles, and plaster.

The panel features the logo of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Chemical Technologies, a stylized abbreviation of the institute’s name, a flask filled with a ‘mirror’ solution, a pipe symbolizing chemical industrial production, and, of course, national symbolism, reflected in a black-and-red Slobozhanshchyna embroidery motif made of glass.
The artists named their creation “The Code of Resilience”, a tribute to the endurance and invincibility of our city, its people, and the polytechnic community.
Mosaic Panel “The Code of Resilience”
“Mosaic of Life”
Tamila Litvishko (07.03.2015)
Fragile life, like glass — fate shatters wide,
And cracks across it, scars we cannot hide.
Yet in each shard, a dream begins to glow,
A piece of light that we still claim and know.
You gather them — the splinters, shade and gleam,
Like mosaic hopes from some forgotten dream.
To make your heart remember and believe
In what you saved along the roads you grieve.
For even from the shards, the light takes root,
Like buds that rise through snow and stone, and shoot.
Though fear still lingers deep within the soul,
Our hearts believe in courage as a whole.
And in each fracture lies the wisdom, grace,
The light that rises after darkest place.
We hold on tight — for peace we still aspire,
And glass grows stronger than the blade or fire.