Biography:
Growing up in a war conflicted region, I have always been deeply aware of the possibility of loss. Photography empowers me to share this insight, demonstrating the horrible, equalizing moment of the possibility of loss, the universality of...
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Neighbors and friends of Pavel Pavelko, 42, one of three pro Russia militiamen killed April 20, in a shooting by unknown gunmen at a checkpoint, mourning during his funeral procession in Alexandrovska village, 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from Slovyansk.
Ukrainian Army soldiers line up in front of civilians who support Russia, who where blocking the road into Andreevka village, 10 km south of Sloviansk.
Residents who support Russia stamp on the Ukrainian flag, during the funeral of Yulia Izotova, a 21-year-old nurse who was killed in fighting between pro-Russian protesters and the Ukrainian military, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine.
Young boys from the city of Mariupol, which was the scene of fighting between pro Russia rebels and the UA army, taking the day off in the beach.
Eventually the Ukranianan army took control of the city.
Two Ukrainian army soldiers embrace each other during a retreat of the army from the city of Novoazovsk, after heavy shelling by Donetsk people’s miltia.
Members of the Jewish community having lunch in the main Jewish center in the city of Kramatorsk, after it was captured by UA army from Donetsk people’s militia.
A sign in the middle of Donetsk city, showing how does DPR leadership (Donetsk People’s Republic as well as Russia) views the current conflict in E Ukraine.
Supporters of Ukrainian soccer team Shakthar Donetsk chants pro-Ukrainian slogans during the soccer match between Shakthar Donetsk and Tavriya Simferopol, played in Donetsk.
A man passes by the remains of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), near Hrabove village, Donetsk Oblast.
it was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Buk surface-to-air missile launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine on 17 July 2014 while flying over eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.
A woman who supports Russia and a Ukrainian Army commander take cover from the rain togather while civilians who support Russia block the road in the village of Andreevka, 10 km south of Slovyansk.
Civilians from the city of Mariupol stage a pro Ukrainian protest near the eastern checkpoint that leads from the city to the nearst Donetsk people’s militia held city of Novoazovsk.
The bodies of UA army soldiers laying outside the old Donetsk airport terminal. the airport has been the scene of heavy fighting between DPR forces and UA army for the past 8 months. eventually it fell to DPR forces supported by the Russian army.
Passengers killed when a trolley bus was shelled with mortars in Donetsk city. At least 8 civilians died in the attack and dozens were injured.
Donetsk People’s Militia men on the scene said the attack had been carried out by a pro-Ukrainian diversionary group, though there was no way of confirming this immediately. Ukrainian officials said their forces were located too far from the spot to be responsible, with the prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, calling it “a terrible act against humanity” committed by “Russian terrorists”.
The location did indeed appear to be out of mortar range of Ukrainian positions, though it also seemed unlikely that separatists would have any reason to carry out the attack.
A former Soviet military base, which according to local sources is being used by the pro-Russian separatist forces, is located approximately 500m from the site of the attack and might have been the intended target. Ukrainian official sources have denied responsibility and blamed the separatists for the attack.
A UA army solider helps local residents of Debaltseve to evacuate from the city.
Debaltseve was a scene of heavy fighting between UA army and DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic) forces, eventually it fell to DPR hands.
Bodies are being pilled up in the a morgue van after a mortar attack on a residential bus in the city of Donetsk, which has left 8 people dead and many wounded.
Donetsk People’s Militia men on the scene said the attack had been carried out by a pro-Ukrainian diversionary group, though there was no way of confirming this immediately. Ukrainian officials said their forces were located too far from the spot to be responsible, with the prime minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, calling it “a terrible act against humanity” committed by “Russian terrorists”.
The location did indeed appear to be out of mortar range of Ukrainian positions, though it also seemed unlikely that separatists would have any reason to carry out the attack.
A former Soviet military base, which according to local sources is being used by the pro-Russian separatist forces, is located approximately 500m from the site of the attack and might have been the intended target. Ukrainian official sources have denied responsibility and blamed the separatists for the attack.
Remains of the old terminal of Donetsk airport.
the airport has been the scene of heavy fighting between DPR forces and UA army for the past 8 months. eventually it fell into DPR hands.
Residents of Debaltseve waiting in an underground shelter to get food from local NGO.
Debaltseve was a scene of heavy fighting between UA army and DPR forces, eventually it fell to DPR hands.
Residents of Petrovsiky district take refuge in the local hospital, after heavy shelling came near their houses which are closer to the frontline.
Donetsk.
Sergei N. Kosyak (c) leading a peace prayer at the Christian Aid Center of the Transfiguration Church in Maryinka,
About 6,000 civilians, including 350 children, remain in the city, about half of the prewar population. Two schools also remain open.
Milena, aged 11, playing around Ukrainian army frontline positions, where she lives with her parents, at the edge of Maryinka.
distance between UA army and DPR forces positions is around 500 meters in this area. some civilians still leave close to the front line, as they don't have anywhere to go too.
Civilians who are living in LPR (Luhansk People's Republic) territory, crossing into the Ukrainian side at Stanitsia Luhanskia crossing checkpoint. one of the border crossings between the two sides.
A grave of a civilian who died as a result of shelling on his house, in the frontline village of Pisky.
11 civilians are currently living in the village.
Population of the village before the war is estimated at 3000 people.
A young kid kisses the cross in the Alexander Nevski church, Mariupol, after a Saturday service talking place a day before the Ukrainian Orthodox church declared independence from the Russian church in a historic move that is likely to result in a split in eastern Orthodoxy.
the Alexander Nevski church is part of the Russian orthodox church.
A house partially destroyed by shelling, now used as a Ukrainian army position, in front line city of Maryinka. the distance between the positions of both fighting parties varies around 300 meters to 1-2km.
Sonya, aged 78, one of the last 11 civilians living in the village of Pisky, heading back to her home after talking to Ukrainian army soldiers.
Population of the village before the war is estimated at 3000 people.
Two men receiving food from volunteers at the Christian Aid Center of the Transfiguration Church in Maryinka.
About 6,000 civilians, including 350 children, remain in the city, about half of the prewar population. Two schools also remain open.
Two civilians fishing in a river at the outskirts of Kurakhovo, where many UA soldiers are taking rest from being stationed in the nearby frontline city of Mayrinka.
Members of the band from Kharkiv, performing in front of UA army soldiers, in one of the many front line positions, in the city of Avdiivka, which was the scene of heavy fighting between DPR forces and the UA army during 2014-2015.
Tatiana Baykina (C), who lost her two children, Karolina (6 years old) and Nikita (10 years old) during shelling on her house in 2014, waiting to be checked by MSF mobile clinic personal, who came to her village of Lebedinskoye, Mariupol sector. located around 10km from the current frontline.
Members of Jesus The Savior Church, praying during a feast celebration for international women day in Ukraine.
the church is located in the city of Krasnohorivka, which has been the scene of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian army and DPR (Donetsk People Republic).
5000 people fled the city as a result of the fighting and the church members are giving as much aid as they can to the remaining population who lives in the front line areas.
Miners working in Melinkov coal mine, which is owned by the state. Lysychansk, East Ukraine.
During the beginning of the unrest in East Ukraine the town was captured early April 2014 by pro-Russian forces (Luhansk People Republic). On 25 July 2014, Ukrainian forces secured the city.
A civilian who was in LPR (Luhansk People Republic) criminal prison, getting ready to walk over to the Ukrainian side, where he will continue serving his sentence. as part of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and LPR.
Schastye, East Ukraine.
The city of Mariupol and the partly frozen Azov sea beach.
Russia has detained 24 Ukrainian navy soldiers on November 25, 2018.
The Ukrainians were on board of three Ukrainian Navy vessels that Russian coast guard ships captured in the Black Sea near the Kerch Strait they were accused of illegally entering Russia’s territorial waters.
The Kerch strait is the waterway between mainland Russia and Crimea. It serves as the gateway into the Sea of Azov and Mariupol port.
Young adults, partying during Mariupol City Festival. a three days music festival, with many of the most famous Ukrainian bands playing during the festival days.
The city, which lies by the Sea of Azov, was held by DPR forces for some time in 2014, before taken back by the Ukrainian army.
Oleksii Afanasievska (Center- 38 years old) mourns over the dead body of his mother, Olena Afanasievska (57 years old), who died during a Russian army shelling on the city center of Kherson, on Christmas eve.
The attack left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Svitlana Klishchytska (L-68 years old) reacts at a coffin with the body of her daughter, Natalia Ryaskova (47 years old) during a funeral ceremony in the southern city of Kherson.
Natalia Ryaskova was killed after shelling to the Ukrainian city of Kherson on December 23, 2022.
Residents of Kyiv use a flashlight in order to move around, after a Russian army missile and drones strikes on the electricity and water infrastructure of the city, which left parts of the city without electricity and water.
Her sorrow clearly evident, a resident of Kyiv waits in the train station to leave the city with her family, heading towards Lviv. Initially, Russian forces captured key areas to the north and west of Kyiv, leading to international speculation of the city's imminent fall, and an exodus of civilians who fled the city.
On the outskirts of Irpin city a civilian, suspected of being a Russian spy, is questioned by Ukrainian soldiers when he is found close to their position in his car. After some terrifying moments he is cleared and given free passage.
A young man, Local resident of Kiyv, takeing a smoke break, while buliding sandbags for checkpoints in order to prevent the Russian army going into Kyiv
Yevgeni (50), was injured while driving his car away from his village, Pdilisia, towards Brovary city after Russian forces had opened fire inside the village. Fleeing the fighting with three other civilians including his wife, the car went over a mine. Three were eventually rescued by a Ukrainian army ambulance team, who took them to the hospital in Brovary. One passenger died in the explosion.
Ukrainian soldiers take cover during heavy shelling by Russian forces at the entrance of Horneka.
On 24 February 2022, the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hostomel and the Hostomel Airport which are located very close to Horneka were attacked by the Russian military during their attempt to capture the whole town. Initially, Ukrainian counter offensives were unable to retake the town but a major Russian withdrawal from Kyiv Oblast in late March and early April saw Hostomel completely retaken from the Russian occupiers.
local residents smoke as they take a rest from offloading wood for warming their village homes duirng the coming winter at Posad-Pokrovs'ke. village Kherson region.
The village was heavly destroyed during fighting bettwen the Ukranian and Russian armies, eventually it fell in Ukraninan army hands.
Ukrainian electricians fixed an electricity line , in order to bring power back to Kherson region and city, after the Russian army retreated from the area.
Ukrainian army soldiers looking at the bodies of 11 Russian soldiers in the village of Vilkhivka, recently librated by Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv city.
local residents said that around 60-70 people left the village with the reterting Russian army, as they didnt want to stay under Ukrainian rule.
A lone folk painting which still hangs on the wall of a family house after heavy shelling by the Russian army on the village of Hoholiv, near Brovary city.
A volunteer keeps an elderly woman warm during the evacuation of civilians from Irpin city. Irpin became the site of a battlefield engagement during the Kyiv offensive. Russian forces took the Hostomel airport in the north of the city to facilitate an advance southwards, around Kyiv. The city was shelled by Russian artillery while the Ukrainians were able to repel and destroy multiple forces attempting to move into the town.
A young Ukrainian runs up the stairs of Closer-Otel club in Kyiv on a Saturday night.. daily life continues in the city despite missiles and drones attack on the city infrastructure.
An injured man stands on a street after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson city center on Christmas eve, which left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
A house in the outskirts of Irpin city destroyed by Russian shelling. The city became the site of military engagement during the Kyiv offensive when Russian forces took the Hostomel airport in the north of the city to facilitate their advance southward towards Kyiv. Under Russian artillery fire, the Ukrainians were able to repel and destroy multiple forces in their attempt to move Into the city.
A war crimes prosecutor (R), police officers and local residents exhume the remains of Nadiya Medvidyiva, 58-year-old, killed on September 18, 2022 during the Russian occupation of her village., at the cemetery of Pravdyne, near Kherson.
Military sandbags wall in front of a destroyed house in the village of Davydiv Brid, in Kherson region.
The village was the sight of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies. Eventually the Russian army retreated.
Rescuers help an injured woman after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson city center on Christmas eve, which left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Civilians who have been evacuated from the war zone in East Ukraine, by different volunteer groups, get ready to board a bus in pokrovske city, that will take them to the daily evacuation train that goes from Pokrovsk to Dnipro city. if civilans are getting to Pokrovske ahead of time of the daily train, they are being taken to a place in the city where they get food and water, before being taken by bus to the train station.
Volodymyr Kovalov (77 years old) stands in his house where his family lives without electricity and water in the village of Posad-Pokrovs'ke, Kherson region, during the Russian occupation of the area.
A woman mourns over the body of her dead husband after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson city center on Christmas eve, which left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Ivan (29 years old), a Ukrainian soldier who was injured in the frontline, being taken care of by medical personnel at a stabilization point, before being taken to hospital.
Donetsk region.
Abandon Baby strollers under the a bombed bridge, were people of Irpin are crossing in order to get to safety from the Russain army sheling on their city.
Residents of Bakhmut, a front-line city which is being fought for control between the Ukrainian and Russian armies, take a rest at a local humanitarian center in the city.volunteers provide hot food, and any other help they can offer to civilians who are still living in the city, which comes under heavy Russian army sheling on a daily basis.out of an estimate of 75000 residents, only a few thousands remain in the city.
The funeral procession of Olena Afanasievska (57 years old), who died during a Russian army shelling on the city center of Kherson, on Christmas eve.
The attack left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Civilians react in shock, after a Russian airstrike hits a couple of hundred meters from their home. flattening their neighbour's house. There were no injuries or deaths as a result of the strike.
Bakhmut city, East Ukraine.
A woman talking over the phone on a higher hill in order to get good signal, near the destroyed village of Davydiv Brid, which was a sense of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian army, eventually falling into Ukrainian army hands,Kherson Oblast.
A family embraces a Ukrainian soldier at the main square, on the second day from liberation of Kherson, after the retreat of the Russian army from the city.
A WW2 memorial (L) damaged by sheling in the village of Posad-Pokrovs'ke Kherson region, which was the scene of heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies. Eventually the Russian army retreated.
Members of SOS Vostok evacuate a civilian from Toretsk village, which is located around 5-6 km from the current frontline. The civilian will be taken to Pokrovsk city, where he will board a daily evacuation train to Dnipro City.
Donetsk Region, East Ukraine.
A marking for the bodies of dead Russian soldiers, before being gathered by Ukrainian soldiers in order to be exchanged for the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, in the former Russian occupied region of Donetsk Oblast.
A man reacts next to dead and injured civilians after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson city center on Christmas eve, which left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Mothers and their new born babies who had to take shelter in Kyiv children hospital basement. as a result of Russian army shelling on the city.
Kyiv, Ukraine
A body of a Ukrainian soldier, who died while fighting the Russian army on the front, at a medical stabilization point, before being sent to the morgue. Donbass, Ukraine.
Volodymyr Kovalov, 77 years old, carries trees branches attached to his bike as he collects wood for heating and cooking in the village of Posad-Pokrovs'ke, Kherson region.
The village doesn't have electricity or water after heavy fighting between the Ukrainian and Russian armies. Eventually the Russian army retreated.
A man reacts towards an injured civilian after Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson city center on Christmas eve, which left 10 civilians dead and 60 injured.
Exhumed graves of civilians who died in a violent way, during the Russian occupation of Izium city.
On 15 September 2022, several mass graves, including one site containing at least 440 bodies were found in woods near the Ukrainian city of izium after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The graves contained bodies of people who were killed by Russian forces. The Ukrainian government believes that over 1,000 people were killed during the battle for and subsequent Russian occupation of Izium.
Her sorrow clearly evident, a Ukrainian child, resident of Kyiv waits inside a train with her family, heading towards Lviv. Initially, Russian forces captured key areas to the north and west of Kyiv, leading to international speculation of the city's imminent fall, and an exodus of civilians who fled the city.