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East of the Dnipro RiverChernihiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions - Ukraine, April 2022 - Ongoing
As I drove through Izium cemetery, the darkness had almost taken away the day when a sea of crosses appeared in my sight. Looking for mines with every step on the frozen ground, my head, heart, and body were pulled by the heaviness of the dead. Written on the graves: 274, 351, 342—only numbers engraved on the wooden markers for those without names. That's how Russian forces identified most of the 440 Ukrainians that were killed during their six months of occupation of the eastern Ukrainian town. It was not the first mass grave found in recently liberated areas after the retreat of Russian forces, and it will almost certainly not be the last. The war in Ukraine's East continues to escalate a year after Russia's full-scale invasion. Over eight million people fled the country, and many others are displaced, as the OHCHR has also recorded nearly nineteen thousand civilian casualties. The relentless bombardments have left a trail of destruction, crippling Ukraine's infrastructure, economy, and way of life, leaving every Ukrainian affected by the ongoing conflict. The following photo essay shows the immediate consequences of the Russian invasion on Ukrainian cities and the emotions of the Ukrainians resisting in the country. This work was possible thanks to the help of local producers Maxim, Sergey, and Alexey with the support of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. Indian Photo Festival International Photography Awards Fields of dead Russian soldiers Ms. Magazine Getty Images Archive |
