Not only to see the horrors of war on a map, but also to enter the destroyed buildings and walk the streets that Russian tanks drove yesterday. A virtual museum has been created in Ukraine 360war.in.ua to preserve the memory of the consequences of the Russian invasion. Panoramic photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities and villages in 360 format, that is, the viewing angle of which is 360 degrees, are available on the online map of Ukraine.
Destroyedbuilding in Gostomel on Proskurivska Street, Kyiv region. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
“Our map shows the scale of the ruins in the country. The geography of destruction is enormous. Wherever you click on the map, there will be destruction everywhere,” explains the author of the visual media project Taras Volyanjuk.
Ruins of the hotel “Ukraine” in Chernihiv. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
The idea to create such a map arose in March 2022, after the liberation of the Kiev region. The man intended to record the anti-human actions of the Russians in a broader perspective: “In my opinion, this is a very documentary approach. We do not choose the focus. We just fix exactly 360 degrees around ourselves. Keep it as it is.”
Remains of residential complex “Irpinski Lipki”, Irpin, Kyiv region. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
Taras is convinced that now it is necessary to hurry to document history, because tomorrow it may not be, and it was the de-occupied Kyiv region that demonstrated this. Taras and the team went there twice with a difference of one week, but he already caught a completely different picture.
“After the sappers mined most of the objects, people began to return and, accordingly, clean up. Burned enemy vehicles disappeared from the streets, flowers began to be planted in the courtyards. Then we realized that people very quickly want to return to normality and clean up all that garbage left by the occupiers. From their streets and from their lives,” recalls the author of the project.
Panoramic view inside Kharkiv Regional State Administration after two Russian missiles hit. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
He wanted to approach the implementation of the idea qualitatively, so he recruited a professional photographer Dmitry Malyshev, certified in Google Street Wiew, to the team. He has already made more than 1500 panoramas available on the site. Each photo has a description: the date and place of documentation, as well as an explanation of what caused the destruction. In addition to Kyiv and Kyiv region, on the site you can see panoramas of destruction from Lviv, Chernihiv region, Kharkiv region, Mykolaiv region and Kherson region.
Taras admits that it is sometimes difficult to obtain permission to record the consequences of Russian attacks or occupation: “The closer to the front and the fighting, the more difficult it is to get approval to shoot in 360 format. And that of a drone is almost impossible at all.”
Ruins of the Nikolaev regional state administration. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
The aim of the project is to tell the international audience about the extent and extent of the suffering that the Russians brought to Ukrainian lands with the war. Taras feels that the war in Ukraine “has already bored everyone”, so he is convinced that it is worth looking for new ways and formats to attract the attention of the international audience. One of the new directions of the project is the involvement of virtual reality technologies — VR. The effect of viewing through VR glasses is much more emotional than from any video due to the fact that there is an opportunity to immerse yourself in certain places, as well as to feel deeper and sharper what many Ukrainians have faced in the last two years.
“We understand that by viewing these panoramas, you can immerse yourself deeper into reality thanks to VR glasses. Therefore, we work with various organizations and are looking for exits to exhibitions and conferences where we can present our achievements,” Taras believes that this method can interest foreigners to get deeper into the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
One of the wounded residential buildings of Kharkiv in the area of Severnaya Saltovka. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
As of the end of 2023, 1620 panoramas from 243 locations in 39 localities are available for viewing on the project website. In the future, the team 360war.in.uaplans to expand the project: add video interviews with people who are on the ground, try to shoot video in 360 format and slightly update the site. Taras dreams of de-occupation of the temporarily occupied territories in order to document the consequences of Russian aggression for future generations, preserve them in history, and then move on to the stage of rebuilding the country.
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
Not only to see the horrors of war on a map, but also to enter the destroyed buildings and walk the streets that Russian tanks drove yesterday. A virtual museum has been created in Ukraine 360war.in.ua to preserve the memory of the consequences of the Russian invasion. Panoramic photos of destroyed Ukrainian cities and villages in 360 format, that is, the viewing angle of which is 360 degrees, are available on the online map of Ukraine.
Destroyedbuilding in Gostomel on Proskurivska Street, Kyiv region. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
“Our map shows the scale of the ruins in the country. The geography of destruction is enormous. Wherever you click on the map, there will be destruction everywhere,” explains the author of the visual media project Taras Volyanjuk.
Ruins of the hotel “Ukraine” in Chernihiv. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
The idea to create such a map arose in March 2022, after the liberation of the Kiev region. The man intended to record the anti-human actions of the Russians in a broader perspective: “In my opinion, this is a very documentary approach. We do not choose the focus. We just fix exactly 360 degrees around ourselves. Keep it as it is.”
Remains of residential complex “Irpinski Lipki”, Irpin, Kyiv region. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
Taras is convinced that now it is necessary to hurry to document history, because tomorrow it may not be, and it was the de-occupied Kyiv region that demonstrated this. Taras and the team went there twice with a difference of one week, but he already caught a completely different picture.
“After the sappers mined most of the objects, people began to return and, accordingly, clean up. Burned enemy vehicles disappeared from the streets, flowers began to be planted in the courtyards. Then we realized that people very quickly want to return to normality and clean up all that garbage left by the occupiers. From their streets and from their lives,” recalls the author of the project.
Panoramic view inside Kharkiv Regional State Administration after two Russian missiles hit. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
He wanted to approach the implementation of the idea qualitatively, so he recruited a professional photographer Dmitry Malyshev, certified in Google Street Wiew, to the team. He has already made more than 1500 panoramas available on the site. Each photo has a description: the date and place of documentation, as well as an explanation of what caused the destruction. In addition to Kyiv and Kyiv region, on the site you can see panoramas of destruction from Lviv, Chernihiv region, Kharkiv region, Mykolaiv region and Kherson region.
Taras admits that it is sometimes difficult to obtain permission to record the consequences of Russian attacks or occupation: “The closer to the front and the fighting, the more difficult it is to get approval to shoot in 360 format. And that of a drone is almost impossible at all.”
Ruins of the Nikolaev regional state administration. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
The aim of the project is to tell the international audience about the extent and extent of the suffering that the Russians brought to Ukrainian lands with the war. Taras feels that the war in Ukraine “has already bored everyone”, so he is convinced that it is worth looking for new ways and formats to attract the attention of the international audience. One of the new directions of the project is the involvement of virtual reality technologies — VR. The effect of viewing through VR glasses is much more emotional than from any video due to the fact that there is an opportunity to immerse yourself in certain places, as well as to feel deeper and sharper what many Ukrainians have faced in the last two years.
“We understand that by viewing these panoramas, you can immerse yourself deeper into reality thanks to VR glasses. Therefore, we work with various organizations and are looking for exits to exhibitions and conferences where we can present our achievements,” Taras believes that this method can interest foreigners to get deeper into the topic of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
One of the wounded residential buildings of Kharkiv in the area of Severnaya Saltovka. Photo by Dmytro Malyshev
As of the end of 2023, 1620 panoramas from 243 locations in 39 localities are available for viewing on the project website. In the future, the team 360war.in.uaplans to expand the project: add video interviews with people who are on the ground, try to shoot video in 360 format and slightly update the site. Taras dreams of de-occupation of the temporarily occupied territories in order to document the consequences of Russian aggression for future generations, preserve them in history, and then move on to the stage of rebuilding the country.
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.
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