Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, photojournalists have played a crucial role in documenting the war’s human cost. Their images capture moments of bravery, devastation, and resilience often at great personal risk.
Among them are Vlada and Kostiantyn Liberov, a husband-and-wife duo who once photographed weddings in Odesa but now document war crimes and battlefield realities. Their work has taken them to the front lines, where they have endured life-threatening situations. Vlada, for instance, was struck by shrapnel in Donetsk in 2023, an injury too deep to be removed by doctors.
One of Kostiantyn’s most striking images, taken in the summer of 2024, depicts a grieving soldier comforting his comrade after a deadly assault inside Russia’s Kursk region. “Losing a friend in an attack beyond our borders is especially painful,” he reflects, illustrating the internal conflicts faced by Ukrainian forces.
Valeria Demenko, who has chronicled Ukraine’s emergency services since 2016, often embeds with rescue teams responding to Russian bombardments. She recalls photographing a collapsed five-story building in Sumy in March 2024, where workers toiled for four days but could not recover a missing girl. “There was a doll on the upper floor… it meant a child lived there,” she says, highlighting the heartbreak of war.
Alexander Ermochenko has covered the conflict for over a decade, reporting from both Ukrainian- and Russian-controlled areas. His photos, such as those capturing jubilant pro-Russian activists in Donetsk in February 2022, offer a unique perspective. Yet, he stresses that suffering exists on both sides: “Blood is the same red color everywhere.” His images from Mariupol in April 2022 where 300 civilians died in a theater bombing contrast absolute destruction with the eerie normalcy of daily life.
Kyiv-based photojournalist Alina Smutko has documented the war while experiencing its horrors firsthand. She has endured relentless Russian missile strikes and lives in constant fear for her loved ones. Despite the risks, she remains committed to her work. “A picture cannot stop a war,” she admits, “but if something hasn’t been photographed, it hasn’t happened.”
For these photographers, capturing Ukraine’s war is not just a job it is a duty. Their images serve as both historical records and urgent calls for global awareness, ensuring that the world does not look away from the suffering and resilience of the Ukrainian people.
