Officials for the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prominent art exhibition, have shared assurances that the Ukrainian pavilion will proceed as planned this April, despite the Russian invasion.

The war has devastated most of Ukraine’s major cities and incited a humanitarian crisis that has seen millions attempt to emigrate while countless others remain in the nation. In February, Ukrainian artist Pavlo Makov, whose work was to be featured in the exhibition, said he and his team were forced to halt preparations for the trip to Italy. All flights to and from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, have been grounded until further notice.

“We are not in immediate danger, but the situation is critical and changes every minute. Presently, we are not able to continue working on the project of the pavilion due to the danger to our lives,” Makov and curators Lizaveta German, Maira Lanko, and Borys Filonenko previously wrote on social media.

At the time of that statement, Makov was sheltering with family in the city Kharkiv, while all three curators remained in Kyiv. Both cities are now under heavy bombardment from the Russian military.

Over the weekend, Biennale officials said that they were “collaborating and will collaborate in every way” with the Ukrainian team to safely transport them and the artwork to Venice, though the biennial didn’t specify how it would ensure this. The Ukrainian team planned to present an updated version of Makov’s 1995 wall-mounted installation, in which water cascades from 78 bronze funnels. Last week, artist Alexandra Sukhareva and Kirill Savchenkov, as well as curator Raimundas Malašauskas, resigned from the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in protest of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Within Russia, others have vacated posts at museums in protest of the war. Last week, the artistic director of the V-A-C Foundation in Moscow, Francesco Manacorda, shared that he had resigned due to his views on the conflict, and the deputy director of the Pushkin Museum, Vladimir Opredelenov, likewise announced plans to quit his post. Amid a crackdown by Russian authorities on antiwar protests and free speech, there has been suspicion that some art workers who are speaking out against the war are being forcibly ejected from their rol

Tugan Sokhiev, the prestigious Bolshoi Theatre’s chief conductor, has resigned “with immediate effect” after coming under pressure to express his opinion on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“First of all I need to say most important thing: I have never supported and I will always be against any conflicts in any shape and form,” the Russian conductor said in a social media post.

But he resigned without stating his position on the conflict, and also left his post as conductor of Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse in France, where he had been pressed to clarify his views.

“Today I am forced to make a choice and choose one of my musical family over the other. I am being asked to choose one cultural tradition over the other,” he said.

He said his decision was based on being “forced to face the impossible option of choosing between my beloved Russian and beloved French musicians”.

Last week the Munich Philharmonic dismissed Russian chief conductor Valery Gergiev with immediate effect, after he did not respond to calls to condemn the invasion.

Sokhiev added: “I am being asked to choose one cultural tradition over the over. I am being asked to choose one artist over the other. I am being asked to choose one singer over the other.

“I will be soon asked to choose between Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Shostakovich and Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy.”

He added he could not “bear to witness” how his fellow artists were being “menaced, treated disrespectfully and being victims of so called ‘cancel culture'”.

Bolshoi general director Vladimir Urin told Tass state news agency he was saddened by the decision.

“I’m very sorry. His departure is a serious problem for the Bolshoi Theatre. It’s unclear how the situation will develop from now,” he said.