With the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, photojournalists covering the war have become even more difficult to work, as personal risks and threats to life have increased at times. What are the rules of work in the field “Arrivals“? What can and cannot be published? How to act when shooting is prohibited? How to shoot so that you don't have to delete the photo? We talk about our own and digital security with documentarians Vyacheslav Ratynsky and Yakov Lyashenko, as well as the coordinator of educational programs, the communicator of 2402 Foundation Olga Fomichenko-Zakutska.
Documentary photographer Vyacheslav Ratinsky has been filming the most important events in the country since the Revolution of Dignity. He goes to the front to the troops and also constantly records the consequences “Arrivals“in Kyiv and in border areas for Ukrainian and foreign media.
He is convinced that it is necessary and possible to shoot everything, but when it is possible to publish is the main question. Vyacheslav says that every photographer works according to generally accepted and own norms of morality, relying on his feelings and self-censorship. “At the moments when doctors provide assistance to the seriously injured, you yourself feel whether it is appropriate or not to be present here. Whether this, for example, can endanger the safety of other people. Whether, say, your presence interferes with the work of police, medics or rescuers. There are very different cases. However, the main task of the photographer is not only to depict as widely as possible what happened. The main thing is not to harm. Whether you are at the front, or at the scene of a tragedy, at the site of a missile strike, etc. The main thing is to remain human“, — he emphasizes.
Kharkiv photographer Yakov Lyashenko, who almost daily captures the criminal actions of Russians shelling residential buildings and civilian infrastructure of his city, admits that “Safety in our work is a relative concept.”
He emphasizes that it is impossible to capture what is in the hand of the enemy, and that is why he is very careful in selecting his own frames for publication. “I shoot more than I publish. Of course, if there are soldiers on site and they ask not to photograph them — I don't do that. And there are still many different points about the military that I would not like to mention. But, in short, I never shoot what can help the enemy“.
Yakov Lyashenko considers efficiency to be key. He learns about the explosions from the window of his apartment, so he instantly goes to the scene of the shelling. “When there is an “arrival” in Kharkov — I hear. Security? Well, I'm not using the elevator at this point. I do not expect the alarm to go off, but immediately go to the place to document the events. Because if I wait, there will be nothing and no one when I arrive“— says Jacob.
Photographer Vyacheslav Ratynskyi believes that it is worth focusing on the situation. According to him, in the first minutes after a shelling or any tragedy, the most important events take place, one can see the scale of the disaster, the victims, the emotions, the dedicated work of rescuers, etc. But there are cases when too early arrival at the scene can endanger the lives of both journalists and rescuers. An example is the attack on a hotel in Pokrovsk, when medics, rescuers and police were working on the spot — the Russians attacked the same place for the second time. “Rescuers died there, policemen were injured. One of them was in the film by Mstislav Chernov “20 days in Mariupol”. It happens that the Russians beat around the city, wait for various services, including the military, to come there, and beat again“.
During one of the recent mass attacks in Kiev, Vyacheslav Ratinsky saw a building occupied from the 26th floor of his house. Then he took a neat photo of the panorama of the city. In the frame — Kyiv TV tower in smoke. The photographer found the place of fire, filmed it, but there was no information about what exactly was in the room and whether it was a strategic object. So, the solution is clear - you can not publish these photos: “I consulted the editorial staff of Reuters, for whom I took these pictures at the time. We decided not to risk it. We didn't want our photos to hurt anyone. Then it really turned out that the photo series could not be published“.
The enemy constantly monitors the information field every day. Most of the information he draws from open sources. Therefore, at the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022 Security Service of Ukraine collected tips for mediators on how to work in new realities.
It is necessary to show true information so that the enemy does not know about the location and movement of the Armed Forces, does not have operational information about the damage caused by it, could not quickly adjust the fire and shelling, did not identify the most vulnerable points in the area for damage (hospitals, hospitals, food warehouses, oil bases and logistics hubs). The consequences of the destruction of social infrastructure, the area of damage caused by attacks and shelling, the number of victims and victims can be voiced after the publication of official data and without details.
In addition, it is not possible to shoot: military objects, movement of Ukrainian troops and equipment, personal data of servicemen locations and areas of execution of tasks, numbers of cars and military equipment, placement of checkpoints and forces of Teroborona on them, deployment and operation of air defense, exact addresses and coordinates of combat operations, locations objects of civil protection.
Inadmissibility to the scene of the shelling is a traditional story in the work of media workers. Photographer Yakov Lyashenko recently faced such a misunderstanding:“From me and a few other colleagues, the police wanted to take the cameras away. Then they were detained without explanation. They didn't even show up, they didn't let us go for 15 minutes. Why did this happen? They don't think we should be there.”.
Jacob explains that such a story happens very often, and mainly law enforcement officers explain it — “The boss said that it was impossible“. Then Jacob and other photographers had to delete pictures showing wounded people and a destroyed house.
“What the boss said is impossible is not a reason for me. I also work under current law. So now we often have this discussion with the police, why is this happening“, — says Jacob.
It is well known that there are two laws under which media workers have the right to work in areas of shelling. This is the law “About the media” and the law “About information”, and with the beginning of the war, it was also added 73rd Order Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
“It is these two laws, and now the order, that are the main ones that are governed by journalists“, — comments Vyacheslav Ratynskyi. They give the right to be in places of natural disaster and danger. “You can, of course, operate under the law. Very often this does not work because law enforcement officers or those who prohibit do not know this law, and they have to spit deeply on the fact that it is your job. In addition, you need to have accreditation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I always wear it in a prominent place“.
However, Ratinsky notes that it is worth quoting the law only if you are sure of your rightness and your presence will not interfere with the work of rescue services. “Personally, I have a phrase that is often triggered when there is a misunderstanding with law enforcement officers. When I am sure of the legitimacy of my actions I say: “You can only get me out of here“, — Vyacheslav laughs.
In general, the guys recommend being creative in their actions and looking for possible angles or other places from which to catch a frame that will become a story. Ratinsky recalled how, despite the prohibitions, he was able to document the tragic event that occurred in Brovary in the Kyiv region: “When the helicopter of the State Emergency Service crashed and Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrskyi died — everything was also fenced off and strictly forbidden to approach. We had to look for other options. Therefore, to see this helicopter, I climbed to the 8th floor of a neighboring house and from a small window in the entrance made the necessary shots“.
In Ukraine, there is a clear regulation when it is possible to publish photos and videos of the consequences of shelling. “We clearly know that we cannot post content earlier than after 3 hours if it has arrived at a civilian facility, and in 12 hours - if it is in a military“, — says Jacob. However, in his practice there were exceptions to this rule. Mostly this happened when there were many casualties after the shelling. For example, Tragedy in the village of Grozain Kharkiv region or the attack on the terminal Nova Poshta. “Then even President Zelensky violated this regulation and published a photo from Nova Poshta in his Instagram. It was from his social networks at night that I learned about the tragedy and immediately went to the scene to document the consequences“, — says the photographer.
When working at “zero” or in “yellow zones” it is necessary to wear protective equipment. According to the rules, media workers must work in a blue body armor with the inscriptions “PRESS”, as well as keep all certificates in a prominent place. In addition, when working in hot spots, you should have a first aid kit and be able to use it. Both Vyacheslav and Jacob to the question: “Why do you do your job?“answered equally succinctly: “Because it is important!“. Understanding the significance of these personnel both for Ukraine and for its history makes Ukrainian and foreign journalists continue to risk their lives, becoming “eyes” for the whole world. The focus of the world's attention is on the war in Ukraine thanks to them.
All current security protocols for media outlets, which were previously relevant in the world, in Ukrainian realities needed revision.
“We have the most high-tech war going on, and the risks here are higher“, — explains the communicator and curator of educational programs Fund 2402 Olga Fomichenko-Zakutska.
The 2402 Foundation conducts educational security trainings for media, volunteers and public figures. To date, it is four days of active training, which includes digital security, tactical medicine and mine safety. “And the last day is working out real scenarios in practice. Groups work on the way out, come under fire and each group is handed a script. It must coordinate the work of each participant, provide assistance and evacuate“,— says Olga.
She also adds that any departure to any potentially dangerous place should first begin with a risk assessment. After all, anything can happen at any time: “You need to monitor the place you are going to. What's going on there now? How to collect equipment and team? What will be the ways of leaving? If something happens, where do you hide the car? Several scenarios to prepare — and it will be much easier for you to act“.
Olga strongly recommends that all Ukrainians get acquainted with basic security skills, not just those who work at the front or in the frontline areas. An example is the tragedy in Dnipro in January 2023, when a Russian rocket hit an apartment building. Then one of the participants of the training, a journalist, lived in the building opposite, so even before the arrival of the doctors, she ran with her first aid kit to save people.
“She correctly imposed the tourniquet, but unfortunately there were other injuries incompatible with life. Therefore, the man could not be saved“, — recalls Olga.
Free HEFAT trainings from the 2402 Foundation have already been attended by about half a thousand people. In February-March, the team plans to launch an exclusive training using virtual reality that will be able to bring participants closer to working conditions in real combat operations.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
With the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, photojournalists covering the war have become even more difficult to work, as personal risks and threats to life have increased at times. What are the rules of work in the field “Arrivals“? What can and cannot be published? How to act when shooting is prohibited? How to shoot so that you don't have to delete the photo? We talk about our own and digital security with documentarians Vyacheslav Ratynsky and Yakov Lyashenko, as well as the coordinator of educational programs, the communicator of 2402 Foundation Olga Fomichenko-Zakutska.
Documentary photographer Vyacheslav Ratinsky has been filming the most important events in the country since the Revolution of Dignity. He goes to the front to the troops and also constantly records the consequences “Arrivals“in Kyiv and in border areas for Ukrainian and foreign media.
He is convinced that it is necessary and possible to shoot everything, but when it is possible to publish is the main question. Vyacheslav says that every photographer works according to generally accepted and own norms of morality, relying on his feelings and self-censorship. “At the moments when doctors provide assistance to the seriously injured, you yourself feel whether it is appropriate or not to be present here. Whether this, for example, can endanger the safety of other people. Whether, say, your presence interferes with the work of police, medics or rescuers. There are very different cases. However, the main task of the photographer is not only to depict as widely as possible what happened. The main thing is not to harm. Whether you are at the front, or at the scene of a tragedy, at the site of a missile strike, etc. The main thing is to remain human“, — he emphasizes.
Kharkiv photographer Yakov Lyashenko, who almost daily captures the criminal actions of Russians shelling residential buildings and civilian infrastructure of his city, admits that “Safety in our work is a relative concept.”
He emphasizes that it is impossible to capture what is in the hand of the enemy, and that is why he is very careful in selecting his own frames for publication. “I shoot more than I publish. Of course, if there are soldiers on site and they ask not to photograph them — I don't do that. And there are still many different points about the military that I would not like to mention. But, in short, I never shoot what can help the enemy“.
Yakov Lyashenko considers efficiency to be key. He learns about the explosions from the window of his apartment, so he instantly goes to the scene of the shelling. “When there is an “arrival” in Kharkov — I hear. Security? Well, I'm not using the elevator at this point. I do not expect the alarm to go off, but immediately go to the place to document the events. Because if I wait, there will be nothing and no one when I arrive“— says Jacob.
Photographer Vyacheslav Ratynskyi believes that it is worth focusing on the situation. According to him, in the first minutes after a shelling or any tragedy, the most important events take place, one can see the scale of the disaster, the victims, the emotions, the dedicated work of rescuers, etc. But there are cases when too early arrival at the scene can endanger the lives of both journalists and rescuers. An example is the attack on a hotel in Pokrovsk, when medics, rescuers and police were working on the spot — the Russians attacked the same place for the second time. “Rescuers died there, policemen were injured. One of them was in the film by Mstislav Chernov “20 days in Mariupol”. It happens that the Russians beat around the city, wait for various services, including the military, to come there, and beat again“.
During one of the recent mass attacks in Kiev, Vyacheslav Ratinsky saw a building occupied from the 26th floor of his house. Then he took a neat photo of the panorama of the city. In the frame — Kyiv TV tower in smoke. The photographer found the place of fire, filmed it, but there was no information about what exactly was in the room and whether it was a strategic object. So, the solution is clear - you can not publish these photos: “I consulted the editorial staff of Reuters, for whom I took these pictures at the time. We decided not to risk it. We didn't want our photos to hurt anyone. Then it really turned out that the photo series could not be published“.
The enemy constantly monitors the information field every day. Most of the information he draws from open sources. Therefore, at the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022 Security Service of Ukraine collected tips for mediators on how to work in new realities.
It is necessary to show true information so that the enemy does not know about the location and movement of the Armed Forces, does not have operational information about the damage caused by it, could not quickly adjust the fire and shelling, did not identify the most vulnerable points in the area for damage (hospitals, hospitals, food warehouses, oil bases and logistics hubs). The consequences of the destruction of social infrastructure, the area of damage caused by attacks and shelling, the number of victims and victims can be voiced after the publication of official data and without details.
In addition, it is not possible to shoot: military objects, movement of Ukrainian troops and equipment, personal data of servicemen locations and areas of execution of tasks, numbers of cars and military equipment, placement of checkpoints and forces of Teroborona on them, deployment and operation of air defense, exact addresses and coordinates of combat operations, locations objects of civil protection.
Inadmissibility to the scene of the shelling is a traditional story in the work of media workers. Photographer Yakov Lyashenko recently faced such a misunderstanding:“From me and a few other colleagues, the police wanted to take the cameras away. Then they were detained without explanation. They didn't even show up, they didn't let us go for 15 minutes. Why did this happen? They don't think we should be there.”.
Jacob explains that such a story happens very often, and mainly law enforcement officers explain it — “The boss said that it was impossible“. Then Jacob and other photographers had to delete pictures showing wounded people and a destroyed house.
“What the boss said is impossible is not a reason for me. I also work under current law. So now we often have this discussion with the police, why is this happening“, — says Jacob.
It is well known that there are two laws under which media workers have the right to work in areas of shelling. This is the law “About the media” and the law “About information”, and with the beginning of the war, it was also added 73rd Order Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
“It is these two laws, and now the order, that are the main ones that are governed by journalists“, — comments Vyacheslav Ratynskyi. They give the right to be in places of natural disaster and danger. “You can, of course, operate under the law. Very often this does not work because law enforcement officers or those who prohibit do not know this law, and they have to spit deeply on the fact that it is your job. In addition, you need to have accreditation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I always wear it in a prominent place“.
However, Ratinsky notes that it is worth quoting the law only if you are sure of your rightness and your presence will not interfere with the work of rescue services. “Personally, I have a phrase that is often triggered when there is a misunderstanding with law enforcement officers. When I am sure of the legitimacy of my actions I say: “You can only get me out of here“, — Vyacheslav laughs.
In general, the guys recommend being creative in their actions and looking for possible angles or other places from which to catch a frame that will become a story. Ratinsky recalled how, despite the prohibitions, he was able to document the tragic event that occurred in Brovary in the Kyiv region: “When the helicopter of the State Emergency Service crashed and Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Denis Monastyrskyi died — everything was also fenced off and strictly forbidden to approach. We had to look for other options. Therefore, to see this helicopter, I climbed to the 8th floor of a neighboring house and from a small window in the entrance made the necessary shots“.
In Ukraine, there is a clear regulation when it is possible to publish photos and videos of the consequences of shelling. “We clearly know that we cannot post content earlier than after 3 hours if it has arrived at a civilian facility, and in 12 hours - if it is in a military“, — says Jacob. However, in his practice there were exceptions to this rule. Mostly this happened when there were many casualties after the shelling. For example, Tragedy in the village of Grozain Kharkiv region or the attack on the terminal Nova Poshta. “Then even President Zelensky violated this regulation and published a photo from Nova Poshta in his Instagram. It was from his social networks at night that I learned about the tragedy and immediately went to the scene to document the consequences“, — says the photographer.
When working at “zero” or in “yellow zones” it is necessary to wear protective equipment. According to the rules, media workers must work in a blue body armor with the inscriptions “PRESS”, as well as keep all certificates in a prominent place. In addition, when working in hot spots, you should have a first aid kit and be able to use it. Both Vyacheslav and Jacob to the question: “Why do you do your job?“answered equally succinctly: “Because it is important!“. Understanding the significance of these personnel both for Ukraine and for its history makes Ukrainian and foreign journalists continue to risk their lives, becoming “eyes” for the whole world. The focus of the world's attention is on the war in Ukraine thanks to them.
All current security protocols for media outlets, which were previously relevant in the world, in Ukrainian realities needed revision.
“We have the most high-tech war going on, and the risks here are higher“, — explains the communicator and curator of educational programs Fund 2402 Olga Fomichenko-Zakutska.
The 2402 Foundation conducts educational security trainings for media, volunteers and public figures. To date, it is four days of active training, which includes digital security, tactical medicine and mine safety. “And the last day is working out real scenarios in practice. Groups work on the way out, come under fire and each group is handed a script. It must coordinate the work of each participant, provide assistance and evacuate“,— says Olga.
She also adds that any departure to any potentially dangerous place should first begin with a risk assessment. After all, anything can happen at any time: “You need to monitor the place you are going to. What's going on there now? How to collect equipment and team? What will be the ways of leaving? If something happens, where do you hide the car? Several scenarios to prepare — and it will be much easier for you to act“.
Olga strongly recommends that all Ukrainians get acquainted with basic security skills, not just those who work at the front or in the frontline areas. An example is the tragedy in Dnipro in January 2023, when a Russian rocket hit an apartment building. Then one of the participants of the training, a journalist, lived in the building opposite, so even before the arrival of the doctors, she ran with her first aid kit to save people.
“She correctly imposed the tourniquet, but unfortunately there were other injuries incompatible with life. Therefore, the man could not be saved“, — recalls Olga.
Free HEFAT trainings from the 2402 Foundation have already been attended by about half a thousand people. In February-March, the team plans to launch an exclusive training using virtual reality that will be able to bring participants closer to working conditions in real combat operations.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
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.
