I live in Bucha and work in Irpin. After the Russian occupation, these cities were destroyed. The military landscape has become my reality and routine. Every day I see people who are restoring their cities, their personal lives from the ruins and looking into the future.
I created a series of photographs in a historical dialogue with images by Polish photographer Michael Nash, who captured how the photographer used a decorative backdrop to mask the ruins of Warsaw during World War II in 1945-1946.
The heroes of my photographs are women who became victims of Russian aggression.
The occupation continued in the spring, people who survived this tragic period did not notice how spring passed, how chestnuts and lilies of the valley bloomed, birds flew in. They were deprived not only of their homes, loved ones, work, health, but also part of their lives. IDPs from Donbass and Crimea have a second tragic spring. A stolen spring is a stolen life. Each photo is a personal tragedy, but it is also a life-affirming story of a survivor, a hope that Ukraine will rise from the ruins.
Alyona
The woman lives in Irpen with her mother, adult son Andriy, a cat and a shepherd dog. When hostilities began in the city, Alyona remained in Irpen. On March 5, water, electricity, communication and gas disappeared. Panic arose among the neighbors and they began to leave the city en masse. The temperature in the house reached 0 degrees, it was very cold. The family moved to a summer house, where they prepared food. During fierce shelling and bombing, they went down to the basement. Once, due to a strong explosion, the son was stunned, and the cat was wounded by shrapnel in the head. On March 27, nearby houses were bombed and neighbors were injured. Alyona decided to leave the city at any cost. The son loaded the grandmother into a wheelchair and they left the house under fire. They could not take the animals with them and were worried about this. It was necessary to make a choice either to evacuate the mother in a wheelchair, or to take the animals. Volunteers helped to evacuate through the Romaniv bridge, while they were waiting for an ambulance, there was heavy shelling. At that moment, Alyona cried, for the first time in the whole spring she allowed herself to be weak. Alyona’s house was damaged during military operations.
Ukraine. Irpin. November 2022.
Albina
Albina lives with her parents in Vorzel. This town is located in the neighborhood of Bucha and Irpen. On the morning of February 24, Albina’s boyfriend called and said that the war had begun. During the first days of the war, Albina hid in the basement from the explosions. It was very cold in the basement, she hardly slept. In a few days, the Russians occupied Vorzel and Albina’s family decided to evacuate. During the evacuation, all thoughts and attention were focused on the events in Irpen, Buchi, his hometown. After the occupation, Albina returned home and saw that the house was in disarray, the door had been blown away by an explosive wave. Albina remembers the spring of 2022 with pain and sadness.
Ukraine. Irpin. Winter 2023.
Inna
Inna and her son fled the war from Donbas to Irpin in 2016. On the morning of February 24, 2022, they woke up to explosions. It was scary, but they didn’t want to go, they hoped that everything would end soon, but the explosions intensified, Inna and her son went down to the basement. The next morning, they left for their relatives in Fastiv. After de occupation they returned and saw that there was a shell hit near the apartment, luckily Inna’s apartment survived.
Ukraine. Irpin. Winter 2023.
Irina
Irina and her family moved to the village from Luhansk in 2014 because of the war. The village fell into the zone of active hostilities. After that, Iryna went to Irpin. When the Russian offensive began in February 2022, Irina worried more about her family in Severodonetsk than about herself. Parents stayed there. The father was chained to the bed and could not evacuate. Irina’s parents got into the epicenter of war events, and then into the occupation. Father died on Easter. Irina did not have a chance to say goodbye to her father. The woman lives near the Irpinsky hospital, from the window of her apartment she saw how a Russian plane dropped two aerial bombs. A few days later, a rocket flew into the neighboring house, the upper floor was completely demolished. Irina realized that it was now or never to leave. She left for the village of Yagotyn. When she returned, she saw that the apartment had no windows. The neighboring house was completely destroyed, there were many burned cars and houses around.
Ukraine. Irpin. December 2022.
Nastya
Russian troops captured Gostomel in the first days of a large-scale offensive. For this city there were fierce battles. Nastya, her little daughter and her mother found themselves in the occupation.
Russian soldiers forced local residents to constantly sit in the basement, while they themselves were in their apartments. The military closed the door with a thin rope. If you wanted, you could open it, but the residents did not do it, they were afraid to annoy the soldiers. In the morning, the soldiers would open the doors and let the residents out into the yard for a short time. In total, about 30 people were sitting in the basement. Among them were 10 children. Together with everyone in the basement sat Nastya with the baby. They survived as best they could. Sometimes they were allowed to make a fire and cook something. In order to make a fire, they looked for twigs, broke old benches, it is a shame to put new ones in the furnace. Neighbors shared food stocks, but they didn’t want to eat, they cried all the way, children cried and adults next to them. They spent three weeks in the occupation. Nastya and her family managed to evacuate. When they returned home, they saw that part of their house was destroyed. Fortunately, Nastya’s apartment survived.
Ukraine. Gostomel. Winter 2023.
Oksana
Before the large-scale offensive, Oksana lived with her old mother and adult son in a village in the Sumy region. Oksana was forced to leave her home due to constant shelling from Russia. In search of work and security, Oksana moved to Irpin in her niece’s empty apartment. There is no furniture in the apartment, so the woman sleeps on the floor. Mother refused to leave her native village. Oksana’s son is mobilized to the ranks of the Armed Forces and protects Ukraine in dangerous areas.
Ukraine. Irpin. Winter 2023.
