Underground

Ongoing conflict in Ukraine between separatists and the Ukrainian government army led the country to the full-scale hostilities. There always at least two armed fighting sides in any war. For me as a human the most important side in this conflict was the third one – ordinary civil people. This series of photos was taken in Donbass in 2015-2016. It depicts the last remaining residents of bombed out villages in the combat zone. During attacks, people hide in the basements of destroyed houses. Mainly, these are older men and women that have been left on their own. Some have decided to stay and fight to the end; others simply have nowhere to go. Many of their relatives have either left or died. As Sergei, a resident of the village of Veseloe, told me: “I never understood what peace was before, or how important it is. You can die at any moment here, but I’m not going anywhere.” All of them have their own unspoken truths.