On July 4, 2023, the Russian army struck the city center of Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region. According to the prosecutor's office of Ukraine, the Russian military launched an Iskander missile at a residential quarter of the city. Several high-rise buildings were damaged, 43 people were injured, including 12 children. The explosion occurred during a farewell ceremony with Ukrainian intelligence commander Oleg Fadeenko.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Alexander Magula, who documented the consequences of the missile strike of the Russian military on Pervomaisk.
On July 4, 2023, in the central square of Pervomaisk, people gathered to say goodbye to the deceased defender Oleg Fadeenko. The fighter under the callsign “Malish” died in the hospital on July 2. He was seriously wounded during shelling near Bakhmut. While people were waiting for the funeral service to begin, at about 13:35 the Russian military struck a missile.
The missile strike killed 43 people, including 12 children. Among the injured children were two infants. The 10-month-old boy was admitted to intensive care, but his condition was stabilized. Other children received light shrapnel wounds, bruises and scratches. According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, the Russian military struck the Iskander missile complex. He stressed that only residential buildings were located at the site of the impact.
Photographer Oleksandr Magula, together with his colleagues, came to shoot the farewell ceremony with the fighter Oleg Fadienko.
“Like many of my fellow photographers, I have filmed many funerals for this full-scale war. It was a normal, if you can put it that way, editorial task, and I did not even think that something could happen,” says Oleksandr Magula.
He was waiting in the square for the start of the funeral service, but the organizers announced the postponement of the ceremony for half an hour.
“The day was very hot and I went to the shade of the trees with other journalists. I heard a characteristic rustle in the sky, after which there was an explosion and panic began,” recalls the photographer.
From the central square, people ran in different directions.
“The first thing I saw was a family, a mother and two girls running, scared, just at me. At that moment, he made the first shots,” recalls Alexander.
The Ukrainian military began shouting for people to leave the square because there was a threat of a second strike. The arrival took place 800 meters from the central square of the city, and immediately another fire engine left there. Alexander and his colleagues jumped on her and went to the scene of the tragedy.
“I saw that the intrusion was right in the parking lot, next to the apartment building. All the windows of the house were knocked out, the alarms were buzzing in the cars, everything was on fire,” says Magula. “We ran into the yard, where the victims were in a terrible state. One of the women, when she saw cameras with my colleagues, started shouting at the whole yard that we were snipers.”
After the accusations of the woman, the military and police began to run to the photographers from all sides. Saved the certificate of accreditation from the Armed Forces.
Then Alexander and his colleagues decided to enter one of the affected houses. He went up the stairs and saw the victim descending. The woman was all in blood, followed by a man and a baby's nose, also all in blood.
“I immediately started shooting, and the man with the child seemed to freeze for a second. He did not understand why I was photographing him, and ran down,” says Oleksandr Magula.
He went into several other apartments that had been destroyed. People continued to search for the wounded, and Alexander and other photographers took pictures. There were more people on the street and even more injured.
“My colleagues and I decided it was time to go and send photos. At that moment, we realized that the three of us were the only photographers at this event and we need to transfer the pictures to the editorial office as soon as possible, - says Alexander. - The Russians have a powerful information attack. It has happened more than once, when they distributed photos with signatures in their public, that Ukrainians themselves hit.”
Oleksandr Magula's photo about the consequences of the missile strike on the city of Pervomaisky was included in the list of 100 best photos of 2023 from Time.
Oleksandr Magula— Ukrainian documentary photographer, photojournalist. Works in the editorial office of the publication “Social. News”. One of his photographs was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2023. Actively documents the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.
Photographer's social networks:Instagram, Facebook
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
Read also: Two strikes. The consequences of the rocket attack of Pokrovsk on the photos of Vyacheslav Ratinsky
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine.
On July 4, 2023, the Russian army struck the city center of Pervomaisky, Kharkiv region. According to the prosecutor's office of Ukraine, the Russian military launched an Iskander missile at a residential quarter of the city. Several high-rise buildings were damaged, 43 people were injured, including 12 children. The explosion occurred during a farewell ceremony with Ukrainian intelligence commander Oleg Fadeenko.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Alexander Magula, who documented the consequences of the missile strike of the Russian military on Pervomaisk.
On July 4, 2023, in the central square of Pervomaisk, people gathered to say goodbye to the deceased defender Oleg Fadeenko. The fighter under the callsign “Malish” died in the hospital on July 2. He was seriously wounded during shelling near Bakhmut. While people were waiting for the funeral service to begin, at about 13:35 the Russian military struck a missile.
The missile strike killed 43 people, including 12 children. Among the injured children were two infants. The 10-month-old boy was admitted to intensive care, but his condition was stabilized. Other children received light shrapnel wounds, bruises and scratches. According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin, the Russian military struck the Iskander missile complex. He stressed that only residential buildings were located at the site of the impact.
Photographer Oleksandr Magula, together with his colleagues, came to shoot the farewell ceremony with the fighter Oleg Fadienko.
“Like many of my fellow photographers, I have filmed many funerals for this full-scale war. It was a normal, if you can put it that way, editorial task, and I did not even think that something could happen,” says Oleksandr Magula.
He was waiting in the square for the start of the funeral service, but the organizers announced the postponement of the ceremony for half an hour.
“The day was very hot and I went to the shade of the trees with other journalists. I heard a characteristic rustle in the sky, after which there was an explosion and panic began,” recalls the photographer.
From the central square, people ran in different directions.
“The first thing I saw was a family, a mother and two girls running, scared, just at me. At that moment, he made the first shots,” recalls Alexander.
The Ukrainian military began shouting for people to leave the square because there was a threat of a second strike. The arrival took place 800 meters from the central square of the city, and immediately another fire engine left there. Alexander and his colleagues jumped on her and went to the scene of the tragedy.
“I saw that the intrusion was right in the parking lot, next to the apartment building. All the windows of the house were knocked out, the alarms were buzzing in the cars, everything was on fire,” says Magula. “We ran into the yard, where the victims were in a terrible state. One of the women, when she saw cameras with my colleagues, started shouting at the whole yard that we were snipers.”
After the accusations of the woman, the military and police began to run to the photographers from all sides. Saved the certificate of accreditation from the Armed Forces.
Then Alexander and his colleagues decided to enter one of the affected houses. He went up the stairs and saw the victim descending. The woman was all in blood, followed by a man and a baby's nose, also all in blood.
“I immediately started shooting, and the man with the child seemed to freeze for a second. He did not understand why I was photographing him, and ran down,” says Oleksandr Magula.
He went into several other apartments that had been destroyed. People continued to search for the wounded, and Alexander and other photographers took pictures. There were more people on the street and even more injured.
“My colleagues and I decided it was time to go and send photos. At that moment, we realized that the three of us were the only photographers at this event and we need to transfer the pictures to the editorial office as soon as possible, - says Alexander. - The Russians have a powerful information attack. It has happened more than once, when they distributed photos with signatures in their public, that Ukrainians themselves hit.”
Oleksandr Magula's photo about the consequences of the missile strike on the city of Pervomaisky was included in the list of 100 best photos of 2023 from Time.
Oleksandr Magula— Ukrainian documentary photographer, photojournalist. Works in the editorial office of the publication “Social. News”. One of his photographs was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2023. Actively documents the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war.
Photographer's social networks:Instagram, Facebook
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
Read also: Two strikes. The consequences of the rocket attack of Pokrovsk on the photos of Vyacheslav Ratinsky
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine.
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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