February, 2017. The front line town Avdiivka, Donetsk region, has been the epicenter of a recent escalation in fighting. At least eight civilians died here in January alone, as the humanitarian crisis worsened with heating and electricity cut off. Temperatures dropped to -8 degrees at night in unheated buildings. This hole was left by artillery fire in 2014, and a home of a local man — who didn’t want to be named — was completely destroyed in February.
February, 2017. Child runs past sandbagged windows in a frontline school in Marinka, Donetsk region. Signposts on the wall direct the children to an underground bunker, where they routinely have to hide from artillery shelling. Additional coloured stickers indicate if the wall is safe to hide behind, if artillery shelling takes place.
February, 2017. Yura Nogin repairs war-damaged buildings in Marinka, Donesk region, where he now lives with Oksana Sidorenko, whom he met while serving with an artillery detachment in the town.
February, 2017. A Ukrainian marine sits inside a makeshift dining hall near Mariupol in Donetsk region. The Ukrainian military has experienced significant levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, which goes largely untreated.
February, 2017. A lone civilian walks on a road near Marinka in the Donetsk region, which has seen near-constant heavy fighting in the last three years. With key infrastructure and transport links destroyed, civilians are often trapped between the front lines
Destroyed industrial building in Luhansk region, September, 2016.
Donbass steppes in Luhansk region, September, 2016.
September, 2016. Konstantine Zarubin sits in his grandparents' home - two floors below the home of his best friend, Edek. In 2014, Edek was killed by a landmine as the boys climbed in a quarry. When trying to seek psychological support, his school headmaster called Konstantine 'weak'.
September, 2016. Pavel Albulov shows the deep scar in the center of his forehead, left behind after a booby-trap went off after opening the door to a house in Troitske, Luhansk region. He went inside to feed the animals left behind by the fleeing neighbours.
Musicians play in Kyiv metro, September, 2015.
September, 2015. Sergei sits during night watch in Zolote, Luhansk region, prepping his gun at the slightest noise in the distance; remains of an exploded 80mm mortar shell is a few meters away. In the morning, his face bathes in the warmth of a late summer’s sunrise – “What a beautiful day, we all woke up alive.” Sergei died on September 23 during a skirmish, one day before he was due to return home.
August, 2015. The bomb-damaged Lenin statue seen through the window of a Ukrainian aroured personell carrier in Popasne, Luhansk region.
September, 2016.“I came here to replace the guys who have been here for months without rotation, so someone can go home - not because I’m some big Ukrainian patriot,” says Vladislav, stationed in Zolote, Luhansk region.
September, 2015. The decrepit reminder of the war in Zolote, Luhansk region, ruins the beautiful vista over the Donbass steppes. Yet, the war is still on going, the steppes are the buffer zone, and the current trenches still scar the landscape, two meters behind the tank.
August, 2015. Child living on the frontline observes bombardment of Ukrainian positions in the rear, as shells fly overhead in Popasne, Luhansk region.
August, 2015. Sergei, the NCO in charge of the position, looks across the no-man’s land in Popasne, Luhansk region.
August, 2015. After months without rotation, the prospects of an entrenched warfare in Popasne, Luhansk region, remain bleak. Faced with increasing apathy from their own society in Ukraine, many soldiers turn to bottle, or worse.
The image of the masked protestor, with their fiery eyes and fist in the air is one of the most iconic images in popular culture. This character has become romanticized, demonized, idolized, and oftentimes misunderstood. The upheaval that has taken place around the world, especially in the last four years, has both reinforced and broken this stereotype.
But who are those who take to the streets? Why do they do it? What do they want?
A procession of women in Nigeria, marching together with placards reading “Bring Back Our Girls”, has a considerably different tone than the charged clashes between riot police and anarchists in Greece. A candlelight vigil held by journalists in Lebanon in solidarity with Charlie Hebdo does not have the same risk of deadly violence as villagers and farmers confronting trigger-happy gunmen in Syria. And a group of concerned citizens voicing their discontent with the privatization of a public beach does not have the same high social and political stakes as those trying to overthrow an authoritarian regime.
However, despite vast differences in context and situation, those who take to the streets often share a common drive to stand up for ideas they believe in. For many, there is a common belief that by taking to the streets and making their voices public, they can influence change in their world.
September, 2015. Destroyed building in buffer-zone village Pavlopil, Donetsk region. It was later recaptured by Ukrainian forces.
March, 2015. Separatists’ diversionary raid on a railway bridge in Mariupol, Donetsk region, leaves passenger trains stranded in Mariupol, Donetsk region. After many months of idleness, the bridge was finally repaired.
March, 2015. The strategic southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol in Donetsk region continues to rely on its heavy-industries, even as shells randomly hit its eastern outskirts.
March, 2015. ‘Psych’, a young volunteer fighter with one of Ukraine’s makeshift battalions ‘St. Mary’ in Mariupol, Donetsk region.
August, 2015. Semyonovka Psychiatric Hospital, Donetsk Region, 2015. Signpost reads ‚Exit‘ at Semyonovka Psychiatric Hospital in Donetsk region. It was completely destroyed after heavy fighting. A local man scouraging through remains of a destroyed home claimed the patients were taken to Russia after the evacuation.
August, 2015. The psychiatric hospital in Semyonovka, Donetsk region, saw heavy fighting at the start of the war. According to Human Rights Watch, patients and staff were evacuated on May 26, 2014 “to other facilities in Zhdanovka, Gorlovka, and Donetsk.” All of these territories are now under control of the pro-Russian separatists.
August, 2015. Two of Tanya‘s seven children huddle by a television in Kramatorsk refugee centre, Donetsk region.
Commemorations in Kiev to honor the victims of deadly clashes between anti-government protesters and security forces a year ago. The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Commemorations in Kiev to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago. The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.
Heads of state together with Europian leaders attend in march of dignity. Ukraine Marks Anniversary Of Maidan Massacre. Commemorations in Kyiv to honor the victims of deadly clashes between antigovernment protesters and security forces a year ago.The violence killed more than 100 people, including 17 security officers, between February 18 and 21, 2014.