On a quiet block in Manhattan’s Little Ukraine in the East Village, passers-by are confronted with haunting reminders of war. A 100-foot-long mural shows children’s beds lined with stuffed animals and toys, but no children, symbolizing the thousands of Ukrainian children who were separated or taken from their families since Russia invaded their country in 2022.

The piece, titled “Empty Beds, is an eight-foot-tall photographic installation by the artist Phil Buehler. It was officially introduced on Saturday, when children tugged their parents closer to look at the cuddly toys, while other visitors sat on yellow folding chairs nearby to reflect.

The mural, on display until Nov. 30 at 44 Second Avenue (at East Second Street), uses the visual language of absence to signify the continuing war in Ukraine.

Buehler photographed the beds at eye level to draw viewers into the intimate spaces filled. “I wanted to place viewers in the perspective of the children themselves,” he said.

One striking image shows Rostislav Lavrov’s bed, with a Yankees baseball cap hanging from its edge. Taken by Russian soldiers from his home in Kherson when he was 16, he was transported through multiple camps in occupied Crimea, where he faced constant pressure to renounce his Ukrainian citizenship. After months of forced relocation and isolation, he made a daring escape across a neutral border zone into Ukrainian-controlled territory. He later testified to the U.S. Congress.