Ukraine War

Freedom, fear, hate... what drives courage ? What keeps people going when they come face to face with violence ? To answer those questions, I entered the daily life of Ukrainian soldiers, but also of men, women and children whose lives have been shattered by war.

A mother mourns the death of her son on the day of his burial, in Lviv cemetery. Petro died in the battle of Popsana, one of the most violent since the beginning of the war. The army had offered him a position as an instructor for recruits, but Petro refused and asked to be sent to the frontline. He leaves behind his wife and two children.

Funeral procession for the death of two soldiers : Petro and dmytro.

Dmytro was killed by a bombing in Mykolaiev, 900 kilometers away from his home and family.

A soldier discovers the devastated city of Bucha and its mass graves, after the Russian troops retreated to the north.

Bodies of civilians with severe injuries found in Bucha after russian retreat.

Ukrainian police collect the bodies for identification.

The inhabitants wander like ghosts, their eyes empty. Some are desperately searching for relatives under the rubble, burying them in the yard when they find them. Others are cleaning their gardens from the debris of war. Those who stay here are the old, the destitute, those who can no longer move and who have nowhere to go.

Borodianka firefighters are searching for survivors and bodies buried under the rubble.

A man searches for his little nephew, who disappeared during an escape in the forest.

Somewhere in the devastated city of Borodianka.

They were social workers, architects, students... now they are learning how to kill. In a hidden warehouse in Lviv, civilians learn the basics of urban warfare under the orders of Commander Nazar. "We feel so useless right now, we want to fight and are ready to die", they say.

Traces of the Russian occupation are still visible in the city.

Photocopy of a Russian soldier's passport.

Soldiers from the 72nd Infantry Regiment sign a Ukrainian flag before waving it in the streets of Rusaniv, east of Kiev, after its liberation.

You may also like