The Russian military forcibly evicted the residents of Yagodny from their homes and drove them into the basement of the local school. About 400 people lived in the terrible crush, with virtually no food or water. Among them were children and even babies. There was no ventilation, toilet and no possibility to prepare food in the rooms. Slept sitting. Several people died.
Today, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Daniel Pavlov, taken after the release of Yagodny. He has been a member of the association since 2022.
Russian troops stayed in the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region for a month. They entered the village in the first days of the full-scale war, on 3 March. The houses along the road to Chernihiv were not damaged. Still, in the center of the village, some buildings were destroyed. Before the occupation, Russian troops shelled Yahidne with artillery. The Russians built an ammunition depot near the local cultural center, of which only the outer walls are left.
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The Russian military searched residents for patriotic tattoos and military uniforms and confiscated mobile phones. People were forced out of their homes and into the basement of a local school. Nearly four hundred people were living in appalling conditions, with virtually no food or water. There were children and even babies. There was no ventilation, no toilet, and no way of cooking. They had to sleep sitting down as each resident was allocated an average of half a square meter. Ten people died in the basement as a result of these living conditions. The military would not allow the dead to be buried, so they were stored in the school's boiler room. The Russians only allowed the dead to be buried twice. One of the funerals was shelled.
The liberation of Yahidne by the Ukrainian military began at the end of March. The village was liberated from Russian troops on 3 April. Journalists who came to the village after the occupation filmed the remains of Russian equipment in the streets of Yahidne, the flattened buildings, and inscriptions on the walls of the school basement.
The photographer Danylo Pavlov arrived in Yahidne village a few weeks after its liberation. He had already photographed de-occupied Bucha, Borodyanka, and Gostomel and talked to their residents.
“Despite what I had seen in the Kyiv region, the trip to Yahidne really impressed me,” recalls Danylo Pavlov, “people were tearfully telling us about their experiences and showing us their destroyed homes. It was morally challenging and exhausting to shoot.”
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Local residents tried to clean up the mess left by the Russian military. They were walking around the houses and cleaning up the streets. In fact, all the residents of Yahidne were forced to live in the narrow basement of the school. Their houses and flats had been taken over by the Russians. People were away from their homes, unaware of what was going on. Many houses were damaged, some burned down completely, and there was still burnt Russian equipment in the streets,' says Daniil Pavlov. According to residents, there were two units in the village that did not communicate well. One of the units was made up of Buryats. Even the Russian military did not want to join them.
In Yahidne, Danylo met a man who, together with his fellow villagers, had buried people under the shelling of the Russian army. They dug graves in the cemetery and lay there during the shelling. My grandfather often cried and repeated: 'Why? His house was completely burnt down,' says Pavlov. The photographer remembers a man with a bicycle who took him to the fresh graves in the cemetery. He also cried a lot and crossed himself. People were on the verge of tears. Danylo also entered other houses. For example, he went to an apartment where a dress was hanging on a mannequin - a sad greeting from a past normal life. In another house he saw a boy and a cat sitting in a cold room with no roof.
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In Yahidne, Danylo Pavlov saw a large number of Russian newspapers scattered around the school. There was Komsomolskaya Pravda with a Russian agenda. “Besides sitting in the basement without any contact with the outside world, the locals were being brought Russian newspapers. People were under constant pressure from the Russian military,” says Pavlov.
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A high school student opened the school basement where people were being held for Danylo. They went down together. There is an inscription on the wall: ten names of those who died in the cellar are on the right, and the names of those killed by Russian soldiers are on the left. “The inhabitants of Yahidne told me of their grief, which overwhelmed them. In the basement, you can still smell the people who were forced to stay there in a terrible crowd and horrible feelings. Reading about the number of people trapped in the basement and seeing this tiny room, it's shocking," explains the photographer. He met an elderly man whose feet were swollen from standing in one place for so long during his imprisonment.
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Danylo walked through the classrooms of the school where the Russians lived. There are still inscriptions on the walls of the school, everything is overturned and destroyed, and almost the entire floor is covered with shit. I've seen this many times in areas liberated from Russian troops,' says Danylo Pavlov. He stresses the need to preserve the memory of the war, and photography is one of the best ways to do this.
Danylo Pavlov is a Ukrainian documentary photographer. He is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. His work has been published in numerous Ukrainian media and foreign publications, including the Washington Post, The Times, and Forbes.
He is a photo editor for Reporters.media and a photographer for The Ukrainians.
We would like to remind you that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has launched a series of materials dedicated to the key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where we will publish memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
The project is being implemented with the support of the ЗМІN.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
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The Russian military forcibly evicted the residents of Yagodny from their homes and drove them into the basement of the local school. About 400 people lived in the terrible crush, with virtually no food or water. Among them were children and even babies. There was no ventilation, toilet and no possibility to prepare food in the rooms. Slept sitting. Several people died.
Today, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Daniel Pavlov, taken after the release of Yagodny. He has been a member of the association since 2022.
Russian troops stayed in the village of Yahidne in the Chernihiv region for a month. They entered the village in the first days of the full-scale war, on 3 March. The houses along the road to Chernihiv were not damaged. Still, in the center of the village, some buildings were destroyed. Before the occupation, Russian troops shelled Yahidne with artillery. The Russians built an ammunition depot near the local cultural center, of which only the outer walls are left.
The Russian military searched residents for patriotic tattoos and military uniforms and confiscated mobile phones. People were forced out of their homes and into the basement of a local school. Nearly four hundred people were living in appalling conditions, with virtually no food or water. There were children and even babies. There was no ventilation, no toilet, and no way of cooking. They had to sleep sitting down as each resident was allocated an average of half a square meter. Ten people died in the basement as a result of these living conditions. The military would not allow the dead to be buried, so they were stored in the school's boiler room. The Russians only allowed the dead to be buried twice. One of the funerals was shelled.
The liberation of Yahidne by the Ukrainian military began at the end of March. The village was liberated from Russian troops on 3 April. Journalists who came to the village after the occupation filmed the remains of Russian equipment in the streets of Yahidne, the flattened buildings, and inscriptions on the walls of the school basement.
The photographer Danylo Pavlov arrived in Yahidne village a few weeks after its liberation. He had already photographed de-occupied Bucha, Borodyanka, and Gostomel and talked to their residents.
“Despite what I had seen in the Kyiv region, the trip to Yahidne really impressed me,” recalls Danylo Pavlov, “people were tearfully telling us about their experiences and showing us their destroyed homes. It was morally challenging and exhausting to shoot.”
Local residents tried to clean up the mess left by the Russian military. They were walking around the houses and cleaning up the streets. In fact, all the residents of Yahidne were forced to live in the narrow basement of the school. Their houses and flats had been taken over by the Russians. People were away from their homes, unaware of what was going on. Many houses were damaged, some burned down completely, and there was still burnt Russian equipment in the streets,' says Daniil Pavlov. According to residents, there were two units in the village that did not communicate well. One of the units was made up of Buryats. Even the Russian military did not want to join them.
In Yahidne, Danylo met a man who, together with his fellow villagers, had buried people under the shelling of the Russian army. They dug graves in the cemetery and lay there during the shelling. My grandfather often cried and repeated: 'Why? His house was completely burnt down,' says Pavlov. The photographer remembers a man with a bicycle who took him to the fresh graves in the cemetery. He also cried a lot and crossed himself. People were on the verge of tears. Danylo also entered other houses. For example, he went to an apartment where a dress was hanging on a mannequin - a sad greeting from a past normal life. In another house he saw a boy and a cat sitting in a cold room with no roof.
In Yahidne, Danylo Pavlov saw a large number of Russian newspapers scattered around the school. There was Komsomolskaya Pravda with a Russian agenda. “Besides sitting in the basement without any contact with the outside world, the locals were being brought Russian newspapers. People were under constant pressure from the Russian military,” says Pavlov.
A high school student opened the school basement where people were being held for Danylo. They went down together. There is an inscription on the wall: ten names of those who died in the cellar are on the right, and the names of those killed by Russian soldiers are on the left. “The inhabitants of Yahidne told me of their grief, which overwhelmed them. In the basement, you can still smell the people who were forced to stay there in a terrible crowd and horrible feelings. Reading about the number of people trapped in the basement and seeing this tiny room, it's shocking," explains the photographer. He met an elderly man whose feet were swollen from standing in one place for so long during his imprisonment.
Danylo walked through the classrooms of the school where the Russians lived. There are still inscriptions on the walls of the school, everything is overturned and destroyed, and almost the entire floor is covered with shit. I've seen this many times in areas liberated from Russian troops,' says Danylo Pavlov. He stresses the need to preserve the memory of the war, and photography is one of the best ways to do this.
Danylo Pavlov is a Ukrainian documentary photographer. He is a member of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers. His work has been published in numerous Ukrainian media and foreign publications, including the Washington Post, The Times, and Forbes.
He is a photo editor for Reporters.media and a photographer for The Ukrainians.
We would like to remind you that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has launched a series of materials dedicated to the key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where we will publish memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
The project is being implemented with the support of the ЗМІN.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
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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