Ukraine’s photojournalists share war stories

In the three years since Russia started their full -scale invasion in Ukraine, hundreds of photographers have documented the human impact of the war on the front line and in civilian areas.

Some of them have shared stories about their photos that have appeared on the BBC Coverage since February 2022.

Before the full -scale war, this team of husband and wife worked as wedding and portrait photographers in the city port city of Odessa. They soon moved “from capturing love stories, to documenting Russian war crimes,” Vladays recalls.

She knows the risks first -hand in her work. Explosion when visiting Donetsk region In 2023, she left her with a shrapnel, deep in her country, which doctors decided not to be removed.

This powerful shot made by Kostinthin Liber in the summer of 2024. Paul Adams Report For the Ukrainian offensive above the Russian border in Kursk.

You can see a soldier comforting his desperate comrade after returning from an attack in which a colleague -a man who is killed.

For the liber, the image reflects some of the confusion in the military because of the operation.

“Losing your friend on an attack inside Russia, instead of protecting our country in Ukraine, is very difficult,” he said. “I took this photo because of the emotional impact he had on me. He talks a lot about the situation and how difficult it was for them.”

Photographing such deeply affecting scenes has influenced local photojournalists. “This is not something we talk about a lot with our colleagues, as it is painful,” says Vlade. “You are in a very difficult situation and no one understands what the solution can be.”

One of her photo of 2023 caught a member of the Ukraine police unit in Ukraine after an unsuccessful attempt to convince one of the last residents to leave the eastern city of Avoid before the Russian forces move.

The story was part of BBC article about a devastating 24-hour Russian bombingS

A man asked the police unit to evacuate his brother from the basement of a burned building, and yet he still refused to leave.

“The next day we couldn’t return because of a firm firing,” Vlade recalls. “The situation has worsened a lot and I’m not sure he could survive. It hurts to know that you can’t go back to these places.”

Document so much losses and suffering, the couple found a more in -depth assessment of moments of joy.

Dmytro, who has been fighting in Ukraine for more than a decade, has been filmed after his wife gave birth in March 2024.

“We took pictures of him in the trenches. And then you see this big, brave soldier crying as he takes his little daughter in his hands, and you understand soldiers like him fight for these moments. Not only for yourself but also For everyone in Ukraine.

Since 2016, Valeria Demenko has chronicled the work of the Civil Service for Emergency Cases of Ukraine (DSNS) in the northeastern region of amounts and is now joining the rescue teams located in areas affected by Russian firing.

“It’s always difficult … You never know what a danger is waiting for you. It’s especially difficult when residential buildings get under attack.”

A moment engraved in her memory included a striking image presented in History in March 2024 Showing emergency workers at the site of a five -storey building that collapsed after Russian firing, with residents still inside.

Valeria recalls how workers emergency cases visit the site for four days straight. They found four dead, but they never restored the body of a missing girl.

“There was a doll on one of the upper floors … that meant that there was a child there and maybe more.”

Although all her colleagues are emotionally stretched, she wants the world to see their work: “We give every last ounce of power to document Russia’s crimes against peaceful Ukrainians.”

Alexander Ermochenko has spent the last 11 years documenting Ukraine’s war as a photojournalist in the East Donetsk region.

He has often reported also in Russian territory controlled and “I never thought I would shoot a war in my home.”

“The fear of the face of the owner of a destroyed house is the same on both sides of the front. It is always important to show that the blood has the same red color.”

The BBC has less access to photojournalists who report from Russia, as the Kremlin restricts access to international journalists and Russian news agencies largely managed.

The BBC addressed a photographer based in Russia to contribute to this story but did not receive an answer.

In the photo above, Ermochenko captured the Verusian pro -Russian activists on February 21, 2022, after Vladimir Putin declared his Eastern region independent. It has been published as part of the BBC coverage From this fateful moment.

He describes how the photo arose “accidentally” – a powerful reminder of the potential impact of the split second of the photographer to lift his camera.

Ukraine said 300 people were killed when Russian planes bombed the Maripol Theater in March 2022.

Next month Alexander Ermochenko filmed this image presented in The report of Hugo Bashegain which the photographer transmits the consequences of slaughter with everyday life.

“Destruction was absolutely,” he recalls, “with nine storey buildings that look like a Hollywood set. But they are real and recently inhabited by humans.”

“The most surprising thing was that life went on, despite the fighting in the neighboring streets. People seemed calm, but in fact they were deeply shocked by what was happening.”

This photo used In our live reporting From the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in November 2022 illustrates the difficulty in photographing the war.

“The photos of the plant were rare at the time,” says Ermochenko. “He is constantly under security, although the soldiers themselves completely illustrate the situation.”

Despite the challenges that he and his colleagues face, he says that “war is not only part of my professional career, but also much of my whole life … As difficult, I will continue.”

Based in Kiev, Alina Srutko understands the human impact of this war through her work as a photojournalist and from personal experience.

“I have experienced Russian rockets and drones against the city almost non-stop for three years. During this time, I have been constantly worried about my parents, child, friends and colleagues.”

She feels lucky that her home is intact and her relatives alive after witnessing a rocket attack in her neighborhood from the window of her bedroom.

Initially, she and her friends and family daily register with each other after the full -scale Russian invasion.

But the frequency of attacks forced residents to learn how to live with the war and maintain the most normal life.

The fee for her profession was difficult.

“We see our colleagues – more specially photojournalists – were killed or wounded during this invasion. We lost one of the members of our team and another colleague was seriously injured.”

Smutko tries not to “overcome” what he does, but he believes it is important to share the effects of war with the world.

“I think this helps in any way, but I do not believe in the idea that a picture could stop war. If we could, we would not lose so many lives here.”

“I still believe that documenting is important. Because if something has not been shot, it has not happened.”

“This job has to be done … I just do my best.”

Top image shows an emergency member visiting a fire as a result of a Russian strike at a gas depot, near the border in northeastern sums in May 2024.