Ukraine – Special edition
In hindsight of the current events in the Ukraine, we want to offer a platform for discourse, exchange and diverse perspectives on this subject. Would you like to share something? – Contact us.
Weekly photo diary by Lesha.
The war in Ukraine is still going on. We want to know how the people whose lives have changed so much since February 24th are keeping up. Leshas photo diary will give us an idea of what it is like in winter in Ukraine this year.
Invisible to the enemy
A team of graffiti artists from Kyiv paint camouflaged military cars for the front for free. During the war, this project replaced their usual street creativity. The "Erase the city" team opened their “garage” for us to show how it works to “mask” automobiles.
The price of independence
On August 24, Ukraine celebrated 31 years of independence. On this same day, exactly six months have passed since the full-scale invasion of Russia. Instead of a traditional military parade, destroyed Russian equipment was displayed on the central street in Kyiv. And instead of a festive concert, Ukrainians in all regions heard air raid alarms, a total of 189 times a day. This year, we all clearly realized that independence has its price. What does independence mean for Ukrainians today?
Raving ruins
Young volunteers from the “Repair Together“ movement arrange techno parties where young people join forces for rebuilding Ukraine after the war. Now ravers gather hundreds of people to clean debris while dancing to DJ sets and rebuild houses that have been destroyed by Russian military. We spoke to Dmytro Kyrpa, the founder of the “Repair Together“ about the inspiring project.
Falling in love in a shelter
This is the story of Katya and Vasya. It is a story about war and it is a story about love. For love happens even when you don't expect it and where you don't suspect it. For love conquers everything. The pictures were taken by Lesha and the interview was conducted by Thekla.
What is it like to flee Ukraine?
Our lives do not wait for bombs to stop falling. Those whose homes have been destroyed are trying to build new ones in safer places. Others improve their skills abroad to return to rebuild their country. War is the worst thing that can happen. But sometimes a 180-degree turn of life reveals a bright side. Ukrainian refugees in different European countries share what they had to overcome and what they plan for the future…
The duality of war
Anton Vozniuk is a 29-year-old artist from Kyiv. After returning from living under Russian occupation for one month, his screen printing workshop became his place of retreat. Our photographer Lesha visited him in his workshop where he printed the “Unity In Love” T-shirts, his current project. The project is a collaboration of several Ukrainian, but also German and Dutch collectives.
POV: Graduating in war
Hundreds of graduating Ukrainian high-school students could not arrange a prom due to the large-scale destruction of their cities. Nevertheless, they decided to create their own memories of their school life and to show how it has been changed by the war. The background story to an unusual photo series.
How to save pets from war
Hungry, frightened and wounded cats and dogs wandering among the ruins of their former homes. Animals are forced to survive under shelling or run away from fires. Others, like prisoners without food and water, are waiting to be rescued in locked apartments. Sonia Sadovska and Dymtro Revnik had to do something. But how do you save animals in the midst of an ongoing war?
Two days in a well
Russian forces arrived in Motyzhyn three days into the war. For a month, the occupiers controlled the village and part of the highway leading to Kyiv. People who were taken prisoner were severely tortured, killed and thrown in a mass grave. Oleg B. was held captive for three days and survived. He served in a church for many years and had never seen such evil before. This is the story of a man who went through hell and did not break.
Trigger Warning: The following article contains depictions of violence and death, which may cause emotional or physiological distress in readers and viewers.
Absence and leftovers
On 24th of February, when the first explosions were to be heard in Kyiv, the painter Sana Shahmuradova left her apartment in the city. When she fled, she just left everything as it was and her flat seemed to wait for her return in a kind of sleep. While she was at her grandmother’s place in Savran, photographer Lesha visited her place which is both home and atelier to Sana. In this series, he captures an empty space where time seems to have stopped. A place that reflects the current state of the country.
Why Eurovision 2022 was not like any other
Ukraine’s Kalush Orchestra has won the Eurovision Song Contest with a record-setting 439 points from the public (631 overall points). Not just this outstanding result but also the time and context of it are different from any other events before. This overwhelming support from Europeans in what is most likely one of Ukraine’s darkest periods in history sounds like a message: war has no place in a civilized world.
“We do care.” – Silent protest in Russia
Diana lives in Saint-Petersburg. Since the 24th of February – when Putin started his war against Ukraine – she has demonstrated against war and for peace. Since new law regulations came up and public protest became almost impossible, Russian activists are finding other ways to fight back against the Russian regime. Diana gives us an overview of the current situation. She talks about surveillance, about silent protest and hopelessness.
“I feel like a ghost.” – Fleeing Ukraine
It’s been a month since Daniel last spoke to Julia and over a month since the war began. A lot has changed: Julia left Ukraine and has been living in Prague with a friend for the past two weeks.
Report of my days in prison
Diana lives in Saint-Petersburg. Since the 24th of February she has demonstrated against war and for peace. On the 6th of March Diana got arrested by the Russian police a second time. She took notes and wrote down exactly what happened during her days in prison
Protesters vs. Russian police – what's next?
Karina Hasulina, a Russian PHD student, spoke to two of her collages in St. Petersburg. Both went to the demonstrations against the war. One was arrested. Until now, the police has treated them with empathy, but what comes next for the protesters?
5th/6th of March 2022, Berlin
Photographies from the preparations for the demonstration on March 5th and 6th, 2022 taken by photographer Nora Heinisch.
The days after my arrest
Diana lives in Saint-Petersburg. Since the 24th of February – when Putin started war against Ukraine – she has demonstrated against war and for peace. For the TEMA Magazine, she reports on her personal experiences in Russia over the past few days. This is the second part of her report.
Where do you go when the sirens go off?
Daniel Harper is a British-Iranian journalist and photographer specialising in migration issues. For TEMA Magazine he talked to Julia, a good friend from Ukraine. How does she spend her nights while Russia is attacking her home country and how are she and her family coping with everything that is happening?
Report of my arrest
Diana lives in Saint-Petersburg. Since the 24th of February – when Putin started war against Ukraine – she has demonstrated against war and for peace. On the 27th of February she got arrested by the police. For TEMA she wrote down a diary of her arrest to share what is going on in Russia right now.
Compatriots fighting each other
Darya is 24 years old and was born in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Part of Darya's family still lives in Ukraine and is currently in Kyiv, the centre of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. While one side of her grandparents is hiding in the basement in fear of armed attacks, the other side is pro-Putin, convinced that the events are no war.