24-02-2025
Love, loss and duty: Ukraine photojournalists share dia stories of war
For di three years wey Russia launch dia first full-scale invasion for Ukraine, plenty photographers capture di impact of di war on human beings wey bin dey di frontlines and oda civilian areas.
Some of dem share tori about dia photos wey appear for BBC coverage since February 2022.
Vlada and Kostiantyn Liberov
Bifor di war, dis husband and wife wey dem be team – work as photographers for weddings for di Black Sea port city for Odesa.
Na so dem move "from to dey capture love stories to dey capture Russia war crimes", Vlada don remember.
She sabi di risks wey dey dis work.
One explosion as dem visit di Donetsk area for 2023, make she get some bomb particles deep inside her body, sometin doctors decide say dem neva fit to remove.
Dis powerful shot by Kostiantyn Liberov for di 2024 summer don feature for di BBC reports on di Ukrainian offensive ova di Russian border for Kursk.
One soja dey console im colleague afta im return from one assault wia dem kill one of dia servicemen.
For Liberov, di photo paint di picture of di confusion inside di military ova di operation.
"For your friend to die inside attack for Russia, rather dan to defend our kontri for Ukraine, na difficult tin," im tok.
"I don take dis picture sake of di emotional impact on me. Di picture dey tok about di situation and how e don hard give dem."
To dey capture dis kain situation don affect local photojournalists.
"No be all di time we dey tok about dis kind tins as colleagues sake of e be really painful," Vlada tok.
"Pesin go dey inside very tough situation wey nobody fit to understand wetin di solution be."
One of her fotos capture one member of di Ukraine White angels police unit afta im no succeed as im try to convince one of di residents to comot di eastern city of Aviidvka bifor di Russia forces go enter.
Di story na part of one BBC article about one 24-hour Russian bombardment.
One man ask di police unit to remove im broad from di basement of one building wey don burn, but im refuse to leave.
"Di next day, we neva fit return sake of di attack," Vlada bin remember.
"Di situation don become worse – I sure say im no fit to survive. Na painful tin to know say you neva fit return to dis places."
Di couple don find appreciation of dia joy moments as dem don dey capture dis tins about how pipo dey suffer wey odas dey die.
Dmytrov na one pesin wey fight for Ukraine for more dan ten years, dem capture am for photo afta im wife don give birth.
"We bin take pictures as im dey work for difficult places. Na so you see dis ogbonge brave soldier dey cry as im dey carry im pikin for hand, you go understand oda sojas like dis one for dis kain moments. No be just for diaserf but for everibodi for Ukraine.
Valeria Demenko
Since 2016, Valeria Demenko don capture di work of di state emergency service for Ukraine (DSNS) for di north-eastern Sumy region wey she now join rescue teams wey dem deploy to dis areas hit by di Russia shelling.
"E always difficult…you neva sabi di kain danger wey dey dia. Na difficult tin when dem dey attack pipo dia homes."
One moment wey dey im mind well well, na one striking picture wey show emergency workers for one scene – wia one five-storey building don collapse afta Russian shelling as di residents still dey inside.
One moment engraved on her memory involved a striking image featured showing emergency workers at the scene of a five-storey building that collapsed afta Russian shelling, with residents still inside.
Valerie remember how emergency workers don dey dat site for four straight days
Dem bin find four pipo dead, but dem neva find di body of one girl wey miss.
"We find one doll for ground…e mean say one pikin or many children bin dey stay dia."
Even though all her colleagues don dey emotionally stretched, she want make di world see dia work: "we don dey give our last strength to capture Russia dia crimes against Ukrainians wey dey peaceful."
Alexander Ermochenko
Alexander Ermochenko spend di past 11 years dey capture di Ukraine war as a photojournalist for di eastern Donetsk region.
Im don dey report for di area wia Russia don dey control wey "I neva tink say I go capture di war for my home".
"Di fear for di face of di owner of di house wey don scatter na di same for both sides of di war front. Na always important say you go show say blood gat di same red colour."
Di BBC get less access to photojournalists wey dey report from Russia as di Kremlin don restrict access to international journalists and Russia news agencies na di state dey run dem.
Di BBC bin approach one photographer wey base for Russia, to contribute to dis story but im neva respond.
For dis picture above, Ermochenko capture pro-Russia activists as dem dey jubilate on 21 February 2022 afta Vladimir Putin bin declare dia eastern region independent.
Dem publish dis picture as part of di BBC coverage of dat moment.
Im don describe how im produce dis photo "accidentally" – na powerful reminder of di impact wia di split-second decision of a photographer dey produce wen im raise im camera.
Ukraine tok say 300 pipo die when Russian planes fire Mariupol theatre in March 2022.
Di following month, Alexander Ermochenko don capture dis image, wey feature for one BBC report wia di photographer capture afta di attack togeda wit daily life.
"Di destruction na total scatta," im remember, "as one destroyed nine-storey building begin dey look like Hollywood set. But na real tin, wey bifor now, pipo bin dey stay for dis places."
"Wetin surprise me na di way life don kontinu, even though pipo still dey fight for street. Pipo dey calm, but in fact, di tin shock dem well well, di way tins don dey happun."
Dis photo, BBC don use for live report of di attack for di Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for November 2022, dey show di difficulty as pipo dey capture di war.
"Pictures of di plant dey make pesin fear dat time," Ermochenko tok.
"Dis place dey under guard everitime even tho di soldiers diaserf dey illustrate di situation."
Despite dis kain wahala im and im colleagues dey face, im say "di war neva be only my professional career, but na big part of my whole life…no matta how tins don become difficult, I go still kontinu."
Alina Smutko
Based for Kyiv, Alina Smutko dey understand di human impact wey dis war don bring through her work as photojournalist and from im personal experience.
"I bin experience Russia missiles and drone attack for di city for three years. During dat time, I dey worry about my parents, my pikin, friends and oda colleagues."
Im dey feel lucky say im home dey intact and her loved ones wey dey alive, afta witnessing di missile attack on dia neighbourhood from her bedroom window.
For di beginning, she and im friends and family dey check each oda evriday afta di full-scale Russia invasion.
But di way di attacks bin happun quick quick, e don force residents to learn how to live wit di war and maintain dia normal life.
Her job don affect her.
"We see how dem kill our colleagues - photojournalists in particular – or wound odas during di invasion. We don lose one of our team members wey anoda one don hurt."
Smutko try say im no go "overthink" wetin she dey do, but she believe say na important tin to share di effects of di war wit di world.
"I think im go help somehow, but I neva believe for di idea say picture fit stop war.
If e fit, we no go lose plenty lives for hia."
"I still believe say to dey capture dis tins dey important. Sake of if dem no photograph sometin, e mean say den e neva happun."
"Somebody gatz do di work…I just do my best."
Top image dey show one member of di emergency services as im dey attend to fire wey one Russian strike on a gas depot cause, near di border for di north-eastern Sumy.
