On November 11, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Kherson, the only regional center of Ukraine, captured by the Russian military since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. On the central square of the city, on the side of the streets and at the entrance to Kherson, local residents greeted the Ukrainian military. On that day there were many hugs, shouts of “Glory to Ukraine!” and tears of happiness.
Today, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Yevgeny Zavgorodny and Andriy Dubchak, taken after the release of Kherson.
Armed forces of Ukraine entered Kherson on November 11, 2022. The liberation of the city ended the Kherson offensive, as a result of which units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces advanced 40 km and liberated more than 200 settlements. Ukrainian soldiers on the streets of the city were met by crowds of local residents. In the central part of Kherson, on Freedom Square, people hugged soldiers, asked them to sign their clothes, waved Ukrainian flags and did not hide tears of happiness. Photographers Evgeny Zavgorodny and Andriy Dubchak were among the first to arrive in the liberated city. They documented this historic day for Ukraine.
“When we drove from Nikolaev to Kherson, there were signs on the road with the specified distance to the city. There were less and less kilometers to Kherson and I took it as a countdown before starting something important. You know how the clock ticks, how it counts ten, nine, eight..., - says photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny. “We drove with great excitement, we wanted to get to Kherson as soon as possible. When I saw these last figures at the entrance to the city, a lump came to my throat, I could not speak. There were tears in my eyes.”
Yevhenii Zavgorodny recalls that in the villages closest to Kherson and at the entrance to the city, local residents stood on the side of the road and greeted the military. The streets of Kherson were filled with people — some walked to the central square of the city, others stood near the roads with Ukrainian flags.
“We stopped near Freedom Square, parked the car and went to the city center. As soon as the soldiers got out of the car, people immediately ran up to them with hugs. We walked a short distance to the square for a long time, because people did not let go of the boys, thanked them, cried with joy,” says Zavgorodny.
Photographer Yevgeny Zavgorodny tried to shoot as many shots as possible, but had to take short breaks because they “covered emotions”.
“After filming in Kherson, my accreditation was taken away. At that time, I regretted only one thing, that I did not shoot enough footage and took breaks for rest,” says Evgeny Zavgorodny with a smile.
He adds that during the filming, he sometimes could not cope with emotions - the people around him seemed to be in euphoria. They danced, sang Ukrainian songs, stopped cars with soldiers to hug and thank them.
“I only had a few hours to work. However, emotions sometimes did not allow me to concentrate and I paused. Now it seems to me that it was necessary to work without any interruptions, as long as there was enough internal charge and battery charge of the camera,” Zavgorodny says.
In the photographs of Evgeny Zavgorodny, the soldier Dmitry “Garmash” remained forever young and smiling. On the square, against the background of the monument, the military man is hugged by a local resident. On March 12, 2023, Dmitry died.
Evgeny Zavgorodny recalls that people just ran out onto the road to congratulate the military. At times, this could be very dangerous, as individual cars were driving on their special tasks and had no right to stop.
“I barely managed to grab one girl by the jacket so that she did not fall under the military car. I was very afraid that some kind of tragedy would not happen against the background of such iconic and happy moments. Then in Kherson there was an incredible atmosphere of happiness,” says the photographer.
Yevhenii Zavgorodniy has been shooting for about 20 years for both Ukrainian media and foreign agencies. He began by documenting the events of the Orange Revolution in 2004. His photos were published by “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “The Guardian”, “Deutsche Welle” and others. Before the full-scale invasion, he was filming the work of the Ukrainian parliament for a couple of years. Since the beginning of the invasion, it documents the consequences of Russian aggression. Yevhen's works were exhibited at collective exhibitions in Ukraine and the EU.
Photographer's social networks: Facebook, Instagram
Andriy Dubchak — Founders and co-directors of the independent reporting media “Donbas Frontliner”, the respondent and the photorespondent. The first Euromaidan streamer, he filmed and streamed many events of the Revolution of Dignity, including the tragic days of February 18, 19, and 20, 2014. He covered the events during the annexation of Crimea. Now the main part of the work is aimed at highlighting the situation from the Russian Federation in the East of Ukraine. He was born and raised in the city of Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region. He opened the mechanical faculty of VDSGI, FIOT KPI, “Journalists of Digital Life” Mogilyan School of Journalism, Kyiv School of Photography. In 2015, he began photographing.
Photographer's social networks:Facebook, Instagram
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Kateryna Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
The material was created with the support of The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.
On November 11, 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Kherson, the only regional center of Ukraine, captured by the Russian military since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. On the central square of the city, on the side of the streets and at the entrance to Kherson, local residents greeted the Ukrainian military. On that day there were many hugs, shouts of “Glory to Ukraine!” and tears of happiness.
Today, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Yevgeny Zavgorodny and Andriy Dubchak, taken after the release of Kherson.
Armed forces of Ukraine entered Kherson on November 11, 2022. The liberation of the city ended the Kherson offensive, as a result of which units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces advanced 40 km and liberated more than 200 settlements. Ukrainian soldiers on the streets of the city were met by crowds of local residents. In the central part of Kherson, on Freedom Square, people hugged soldiers, asked them to sign their clothes, waved Ukrainian flags and did not hide tears of happiness. Photographers Evgeny Zavgorodny and Andriy Dubchak were among the first to arrive in the liberated city. They documented this historic day for Ukraine.
“When we drove from Nikolaev to Kherson, there were signs on the road with the specified distance to the city. There were less and less kilometers to Kherson and I took it as a countdown before starting something important. You know how the clock ticks, how it counts ten, nine, eight..., - says photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny. “We drove with great excitement, we wanted to get to Kherson as soon as possible. When I saw these last figures at the entrance to the city, a lump came to my throat, I could not speak. There were tears in my eyes.”
Yevhenii Zavgorodny recalls that in the villages closest to Kherson and at the entrance to the city, local residents stood on the side of the road and greeted the military. The streets of Kherson were filled with people — some walked to the central square of the city, others stood near the roads with Ukrainian flags.
“We stopped near Freedom Square, parked the car and went to the city center. As soon as the soldiers got out of the car, people immediately ran up to them with hugs. We walked a short distance to the square for a long time, because people did not let go of the boys, thanked them, cried with joy,” says Zavgorodny.
Photographer Yevgeny Zavgorodny tried to shoot as many shots as possible, but had to take short breaks because they “covered emotions”.
“After filming in Kherson, my accreditation was taken away. At that time, I regretted only one thing, that I did not shoot enough footage and took breaks for rest,” says Evgeny Zavgorodny with a smile.
He adds that during the filming, he sometimes could not cope with emotions - the people around him seemed to be in euphoria. They danced, sang Ukrainian songs, stopped cars with soldiers to hug and thank them.
“I only had a few hours to work. However, emotions sometimes did not allow me to concentrate and I paused. Now it seems to me that it was necessary to work without any interruptions, as long as there was enough internal charge and battery charge of the camera,” Zavgorodny says.
In the photographs of Evgeny Zavgorodny, the soldier Dmitry “Garmash” remained forever young and smiling. On the square, against the background of the monument, the military man is hugged by a local resident. On March 12, 2023, Dmitry died.
Evgeny Zavgorodny recalls that people just ran out onto the road to congratulate the military. At times, this could be very dangerous, as individual cars were driving on their special tasks and had no right to stop.
“I barely managed to grab one girl by the jacket so that she did not fall under the military car. I was very afraid that some kind of tragedy would not happen against the background of such iconic and happy moments. Then in Kherson there was an incredible atmosphere of happiness,” says the photographer.
Yevhenii Zavgorodniy has been shooting for about 20 years for both Ukrainian media and foreign agencies. He began by documenting the events of the Orange Revolution in 2004. His photos were published by “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “The Guardian”, “Deutsche Welle” and others. Before the full-scale invasion, he was filming the work of the Ukrainian parliament for a couple of years. Since the beginning of the invasion, it documents the consequences of Russian aggression. Yevhen's works were exhibited at collective exhibitions in Ukraine and the EU.
Photographer's social networks: Facebook, Instagram
Andriy Dubchak — Founders and co-directors of the independent reporting media “Donbas Frontliner”, the respondent and the photorespondent. The first Euromaidan streamer, he filmed and streamed many events of the Revolution of Dignity, including the tragic days of February 18, 19, and 20, 2014. He covered the events during the annexation of Crimea. Now the main part of the work is aimed at highlighting the situation from the Russian Federation in the East of Ukraine. He was born and raised in the city of Kalynivka, Vinnytsia region. He opened the mechanical faculty of VDSGI, FIOT KPI, “Journalists of Digital Life” Mogilyan School of Journalism, Kyiv School of Photography. In 2015, he began photographing.
Photographer's social networks:Facebook, Instagram
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Kateryna Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
The material was created with the support of The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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