The city of Bakhmut held its defense from the beginning of July 2022 until the end of May 2023. After ten months of confrontation, the Ukrainian military withdrew from Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Danil Pavlov, Georgy Ivanchenko, Konstantin and Vlada Liberov, who were next to Ukrainian artillerymen and infantrymen, rescuers and medics, chaplains and local residents, and documented their lives and life in the city of Bakhmut.
The struggle for the city of Bakhmut lasted almost ten months — from July 2022 to the end of May 2023. In November, the Russian army and the Wagner PKK began actively storming and shelling the city. The Russian army advanced and cut almost all supply routes. Until the last one remained the road through the village of Khromovo. However, it was also actively attacked by the Russian military. Armed forces of Ukraine restrained the offensive and carried out gradual rotation and withdrawal of individual units. In recent weeks, the Russian army has massively dropped air bombs on the city and used large-caliber artillery. In the end, the Ukrainian military pulled out of Bakhmut.
On the eve of the New Year 2023, life was still warm in the city, and there was even an improvised market on the outskirts of Bakhmut. Local residents were in basements without light and heating. Photographers Konstantin and Vlada Liberov came to Bakhmut on the eve of the New Year holidays. They recorded preparations for the new year in the only part of the State Emergency Service in the city of Bakhmut at that time. “Today it is customary to celebrate Christmas all over the world. The smell of the Christmas tree. The atmosphere is a miracle. They are preparing for this holiday on the front line,” photographers Konstantin and Vlad Liberov recall. “Daily shelling that does not subside for a second. Destroyed factories, architectural monuments, human destinies,” says Vlada Liberova. “Everything is destroyed, except that no one can move from its place: the power of our people. The will power of our Armed Forces. Bakhmut stands. Bakhmut is Ukraine.”
During December 2022 and January 2023, life in Bakhmut was documented by Georgy Ivanchenko. “I filmed a dilapidated city with many civilians left behind. People's lives consisted of searching for trees and water, preparing food and camping under shelling to the volunteer center, where they could get in touch with their relatives,” says Georgy Ivanchenko.
The photographer went to Bakhmut with volunteer friends. He recalls that on the road all the time he imagined his death or injury in detail. “I've never been to Bakhmut before. On the first day in the city there was only winter, cold, gray, destroyed or damaged buildings around, the smell of burning metal and explosions without interruption during the walk,” Ivanchenko says. At first he lived in one of the three volunteer stations in the city at that time, in the basement of a kindergarten near the river Bakhmutovka. The positions of the Russian army were only one and a half kilometers from the river. When George first went down to the basement, he saw an elderly man with a family album in his hands. He just came from the opposite side of the river. “I just took pictures. And of things, only what I am, because things are nothing, you can buy them, and you can't buy these (photos),” the grandfather explained.
In the basement of the kindergarten Georgy Ivanchenko lived for several days. There was a “bourgeois”, hot lunches and dinners, a children's corner with school mothers, even the Internet and a television on which the news was constantly transmitted. In the shelter, the photographer met seven-year-old Stas and nine-year-old Vika. At the moment, the children have been evacuated to central Ukraine. “Once, doctors came to our basement — volunteers from Kharkov, to evacuate a woman who had heart problems. She did not want to leave, but the neighbors persuaded her: “Lucia, you will die here! If you don't get out, you will die.” This is the reality,” Ivanchenko says.
The photographer, thanks to doctors and volunteers, journalists and the military, was able to see how the city of Bakhmut lives. He visited the shelter, which was independently organized by the inhabitants of Bakhmut. About 20 people lived there, six of whom were children. “My volunteer friend Dmytro brought modular plasticine for children so that they could get a little distracted. We sculpted our planet of Chudyky, drank tea, played Monopoly and “Guess Who?”, remembered our childhood, - smiles Georgy. - Children Milan and Alina dream of being volunteers, wearing helmets and body armor, helping people and animals. I fondly recall our chess game with Milan, as well as three-year-old Ilya, who gazed intently at the festively decorated Christmas tree. I loved these kids and the people who care about them.” Despite the difficult situation, adults worked with children — grandfather taught to play chess, young woman read books aloud, teacher neighbors came to conduct physics and drawing lessons.
“It was in this basement that I met Christmas. Residents organized a festive table: first course, salads and spins, hot peppers from humanitarian aid and, of course, kutya. I became part of this family for a few days, got so much warmth that I even forgot about the war in the yard,” recalls the photographer. He adds that in the morning he saw the body of a soldier near the house. He froze, leaning against a wall with the inscription “Merry Christmas Adventure”. The dead man was in a military uniform, but it was impossible to determine which army. On February 23, Ivanchenko learned from his volunteer friend that a shell had hit the shelter house. The children were taken away by adults and the photographer did not see them again. “Children who have seen war are different. They can light the stove, cook food, collect firewood. They get used to shelling, take responsibility for younger brothers and sisters, and sometimes for their parents. War is a catalyst for all processes, including growing up,” the photographer reflects.
In January 2023, part of the State Emergency Service was still working in Bakhmut. Georgy Ivanchenko lived with them for a week, met with them the New Year. Some were shelled several times, but it was “protected” by a multi-storey building nearby, which took all the blows. There were frequent fires in the city, mainly in empty houses. “Risking your life for concrete is pointless. During the defense of Bakhmut, several rescuers were killed — they were fired upon during the analysis of the rubble,” says Georgy Ivanchenko.
“For the New Year, we set the table, prepared a barbecue and opened a bottle of Artemivsky champagne, which was made in Bakhmut before the war. However, the night was not as quiet as we wanted, and we had to move the celebration to the basement,” Ivanchenko recalls.
Ukrainian documentary photographer Danilo Pavlov also met the New Year in Bakhmut. “Journalist Myroslav Lajuk and I came to Bakhmut on December 31, 2022. We were in the part of the SNS and fried New Year's barbecue. They even decorated the Christmas tree,” says Danil Pavlov.
On the eve of the New Year, the Points of Inviolability were in operation in the city, the employees of the State Emergency Service delivered water to people. Daniel met two older women who came to collect water. One of them is 86-year-old Oleksandra Mikhailovna, dressed in a bright red handkerchief. She had not spoken to her family for a month and a half and asked for journalists to call her son and say that she was alive. She has two daughters, but they are abroad.
On the first day of 2023, Daniel Pavlov walked through the city. In Bakhmut, where more than 70,000 people lived, there were still many civilians — about 10,000. “Of course, you don't particularly walk around the city — constant shelling, 'arrivals' in the center, drones flying,” recalls Danylo Pavlov. “The city has not yet been completely destroyed. Employees of the State Emergency Service said that in October in Bakhmut there was even electricity and turned on the lights.”
Daniel Pavlov recalls that on the eve of the New Year on the outskirts of the city there was still an improvised market. The entrance to Bakhmut in the direction of the village of Khromove remained under the control of Ukrainian troops for a long time. “People crowded around the counters, chose something, bought sausage,” Pavlov says. The inhabitants of Bakhmut lived in cold basements or huts, and came to the Points of Inviolability to warm and charge their phones. In some places in the city it was still possible to “catch” the network.
Daniel Pavlov together with colleagues wanted to come to Bakhmut after the New Year holidays. “In Konstantinovka, I learned that our acquaintance Mrs. Alexander was being taken away from Bakhmut. They are brought from the stabilization point in Konstantinovka. We immediately visited her in the hospital. We waited a week for her to regain strength, and brought to Kiev to her relatives,” says the photographer. A few weeks later, the emergency services staff wrote that a shell hit their part and they had to evacuate. This was the last part of the SNS that still worked in the city: if possible, they dismantled debris, extinguished fires. Since the city already had water problems, rescuers went to collect water in the pond. After their evacuation, there was simply no one to extinguish the flames. For the second time, Danilov and his colleagues failed to come to the city — the shelling intensified and the situation became extremely dangerous.
“Imagine how much field doctors see. 59-year-old anesthesiologist with the nickname Kaplia says that the hardest thing is when there are not enough minutes to save a life,” says Georgy Ivanchenko. In January 2023, the number of wounded arriving at the hospital increased significantly: an average of 10 to 15 wounded in the afternoon. Although most of the injuries are related to artillery shelling, Caple noted an increase in bullet wounds compared to the summer of 2022. The enemy was actively advancing.
The last time Georgy Ivanchenko was in Bakhmut was on February 24, the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. “The volunteer and I evacuated a grandmother and a young couple with guinea pigs. On the last safe exit from Bakhmut, near a medical carriage shot by Russian artillery, two blanketed bodies lay for the second day. Because of the increased danger, no one could pick them up. As it turned out later, there was a medic behind the wheel of the car who evacuated the wounded soldier,” says Georgy Ivanchenko. He adds that in April 2023, Bakhmut was closed to volunteers and journalists. The city gradually emptied.
A few months later, the city of Bakhmut was almost completely destroyed. “In Bakhmut today there is not a single habitable area: the shelling does not subside for a minute, there are simply more intense and less intense times. However, people and even children still remain in the city, and the issue of their evacuation is becoming more and more complicated,” Vlada Liberova wrote on social networks. “Almost every day people die there, and the number of fresh graves in the local cemetery has almost doubled since December: and these are the ones who were able to be buried. And how many who could not? Every day our defenders die trying to hold the city, and we believe that we will be able to resist, that their great sacrifice will not be in vain.”
Konstantin Liberov— Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities. Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Heorhii Ivanchenko— Ukrainian photographer, who since February 2022 works as a freelance reporter in the field of documentary and journalistic photography. From the first months of the invasion, he began filming for the Associated Press and the European Pressphoto Agency. Starting from Borodyanshchyna, where Georgy was born, continuing his journey through the front line: Mykolaiv, Kharkiv region, Kherson region, now his attention was concentrated on Donetsk region. The turning point in his photography was that he lived in Bakhmut for almost a month. Throughout December and January, he documented the lives of the townspeople, carrying a backpack and sleeping bag, sharing life with locals in basements, volunteers, medics, military, and firemen. In April, while working on material about Chasiv Yar in Donbas, his car was shot and destroyed by a Russian shell. Now the author continues his reflection on the numerous situations that have happened on his way and is working on the creation of his first project “Way of War” (working title).
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Danylo Pavlov— photojournalist since 2009, worked in the regional media of Donetsk, and later in the media holding “Segodnya” and the UNIAN agency. He also worked as a commercial photographer for several Ukrainian companies. In photojournalism, it focuses on creating social photo stories and illustrating long-read reports. In addition to working in traditional media, Danylo also contributed to the online magazine The Ukrainians, and later became responsible for the visual direction of a separate edition of Reporters, which now exists both online and in print. Danylo continues to photograph and cover the events following the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. He reports from de-occupied territories and military positions, and is currently working on a long-running photo project documenting the impact of war on servicemen and civilians in need of plastic surgery. He also collaborates with the State Emergency Service, for which he was awarded the State Badge of Honor last year.
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
The city of Bakhmut held its defense from the beginning of July 2022 until the end of May 2023. After ten months of confrontation, the Ukrainian military withdrew from Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Danil Pavlov, Georgy Ivanchenko, Konstantin and Vlada Liberov, who were next to Ukrainian artillerymen and infantrymen, rescuers and medics, chaplains and local residents, and documented their lives and life in the city of Bakhmut.
The struggle for the city of Bakhmut lasted almost ten months — from July 2022 to the end of May 2023. In November, the Russian army and the Wagner PKK began actively storming and shelling the city. The Russian army advanced and cut almost all supply routes. Until the last one remained the road through the village of Khromovo. However, it was also actively attacked by the Russian military. Armed forces of Ukraine restrained the offensive and carried out gradual rotation and withdrawal of individual units. In recent weeks, the Russian army has massively dropped air bombs on the city and used large-caliber artillery. In the end, the Ukrainian military pulled out of Bakhmut.
On the eve of the New Year 2023, life was still warm in the city, and there was even an improvised market on the outskirts of Bakhmut. Local residents were in basements without light and heating. Photographers Konstantin and Vlada Liberov came to Bakhmut on the eve of the New Year holidays. They recorded preparations for the new year in the only part of the State Emergency Service in the city of Bakhmut at that time. “Today it is customary to celebrate Christmas all over the world. The smell of the Christmas tree. The atmosphere is a miracle. They are preparing for this holiday on the front line,” photographers Konstantin and Vlad Liberov recall. “Daily shelling that does not subside for a second. Destroyed factories, architectural monuments, human destinies,” says Vlada Liberova. “Everything is destroyed, except that no one can move from its place: the power of our people. The will power of our Armed Forces. Bakhmut stands. Bakhmut is Ukraine.”
During December 2022 and January 2023, life in Bakhmut was documented by Georgy Ivanchenko. “I filmed a dilapidated city with many civilians left behind. People's lives consisted of searching for trees and water, preparing food and camping under shelling to the volunteer center, where they could get in touch with their relatives,” says Georgy Ivanchenko.
The photographer went to Bakhmut with volunteer friends. He recalls that on the road all the time he imagined his death or injury in detail. “I've never been to Bakhmut before. On the first day in the city there was only winter, cold, gray, destroyed or damaged buildings around, the smell of burning metal and explosions without interruption during the walk,” Ivanchenko says. At first he lived in one of the three volunteer stations in the city at that time, in the basement of a kindergarten near the river Bakhmutovka. The positions of the Russian army were only one and a half kilometers from the river. When George first went down to the basement, he saw an elderly man with a family album in his hands. He just came from the opposite side of the river. “I just took pictures. And of things, only what I am, because things are nothing, you can buy them, and you can't buy these (photos),” the grandfather explained.
In the basement of the kindergarten Georgy Ivanchenko lived for several days. There was a “bourgeois”, hot lunches and dinners, a children's corner with school mothers, even the Internet and a television on which the news was constantly transmitted. In the shelter, the photographer met seven-year-old Stas and nine-year-old Vika. At the moment, the children have been evacuated to central Ukraine. “Once, doctors came to our basement — volunteers from Kharkov, to evacuate a woman who had heart problems. She did not want to leave, but the neighbors persuaded her: “Lucia, you will die here! If you don't get out, you will die.” This is the reality,” Ivanchenko says.
The photographer, thanks to doctors and volunteers, journalists and the military, was able to see how the city of Bakhmut lives. He visited the shelter, which was independently organized by the inhabitants of Bakhmut. About 20 people lived there, six of whom were children. “My volunteer friend Dmytro brought modular plasticine for children so that they could get a little distracted. We sculpted our planet of Chudyky, drank tea, played Monopoly and “Guess Who?”, remembered our childhood, - smiles Georgy. - Children Milan and Alina dream of being volunteers, wearing helmets and body armor, helping people and animals. I fondly recall our chess game with Milan, as well as three-year-old Ilya, who gazed intently at the festively decorated Christmas tree. I loved these kids and the people who care about them.” Despite the difficult situation, adults worked with children — grandfather taught to play chess, young woman read books aloud, teacher neighbors came to conduct physics and drawing lessons.
“It was in this basement that I met Christmas. Residents organized a festive table: first course, salads and spins, hot peppers from humanitarian aid and, of course, kutya. I became part of this family for a few days, got so much warmth that I even forgot about the war in the yard,” recalls the photographer. He adds that in the morning he saw the body of a soldier near the house. He froze, leaning against a wall with the inscription “Merry Christmas Adventure”. The dead man was in a military uniform, but it was impossible to determine which army. On February 23, Ivanchenko learned from his volunteer friend that a shell had hit the shelter house. The children were taken away by adults and the photographer did not see them again. “Children who have seen war are different. They can light the stove, cook food, collect firewood. They get used to shelling, take responsibility for younger brothers and sisters, and sometimes for their parents. War is a catalyst for all processes, including growing up,” the photographer reflects.
In January 2023, part of the State Emergency Service was still working in Bakhmut. Georgy Ivanchenko lived with them for a week, met with them the New Year. Some were shelled several times, but it was “protected” by a multi-storey building nearby, which took all the blows. There were frequent fires in the city, mainly in empty houses. “Risking your life for concrete is pointless. During the defense of Bakhmut, several rescuers were killed — they were fired upon during the analysis of the rubble,” says Georgy Ivanchenko.
“For the New Year, we set the table, prepared a barbecue and opened a bottle of Artemivsky champagne, which was made in Bakhmut before the war. However, the night was not as quiet as we wanted, and we had to move the celebration to the basement,” Ivanchenko recalls.
Ukrainian documentary photographer Danilo Pavlov also met the New Year in Bakhmut. “Journalist Myroslav Lajuk and I came to Bakhmut on December 31, 2022. We were in the part of the SNS and fried New Year's barbecue. They even decorated the Christmas tree,” says Danil Pavlov.
On the eve of the New Year, the Points of Inviolability were in operation in the city, the employees of the State Emergency Service delivered water to people. Daniel met two older women who came to collect water. One of them is 86-year-old Oleksandra Mikhailovna, dressed in a bright red handkerchief. She had not spoken to her family for a month and a half and asked for journalists to call her son and say that she was alive. She has two daughters, but they are abroad.
On the first day of 2023, Daniel Pavlov walked through the city. In Bakhmut, where more than 70,000 people lived, there were still many civilians — about 10,000. “Of course, you don't particularly walk around the city — constant shelling, 'arrivals' in the center, drones flying,” recalls Danylo Pavlov. “The city has not yet been completely destroyed. Employees of the State Emergency Service said that in October in Bakhmut there was even electricity and turned on the lights.”
Daniel Pavlov recalls that on the eve of the New Year on the outskirts of the city there was still an improvised market. The entrance to Bakhmut in the direction of the village of Khromove remained under the control of Ukrainian troops for a long time. “People crowded around the counters, chose something, bought sausage,” Pavlov says. The inhabitants of Bakhmut lived in cold basements or huts, and came to the Points of Inviolability to warm and charge their phones. In some places in the city it was still possible to “catch” the network.
Daniel Pavlov together with colleagues wanted to come to Bakhmut after the New Year holidays. “In Konstantinovka, I learned that our acquaintance Mrs. Alexander was being taken away from Bakhmut. They are brought from the stabilization point in Konstantinovka. We immediately visited her in the hospital. We waited a week for her to regain strength, and brought to Kiev to her relatives,” says the photographer. A few weeks later, the emergency services staff wrote that a shell hit their part and they had to evacuate. This was the last part of the SNS that still worked in the city: if possible, they dismantled debris, extinguished fires. Since the city already had water problems, rescuers went to collect water in the pond. After their evacuation, there was simply no one to extinguish the flames. For the second time, Danilov and his colleagues failed to come to the city — the shelling intensified and the situation became extremely dangerous.
“Imagine how much field doctors see. 59-year-old anesthesiologist with the nickname Kaplia says that the hardest thing is when there are not enough minutes to save a life,” says Georgy Ivanchenko. In January 2023, the number of wounded arriving at the hospital increased significantly: an average of 10 to 15 wounded in the afternoon. Although most of the injuries are related to artillery shelling, Caple noted an increase in bullet wounds compared to the summer of 2022. The enemy was actively advancing.
The last time Georgy Ivanchenko was in Bakhmut was on February 24, the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. “The volunteer and I evacuated a grandmother and a young couple with guinea pigs. On the last safe exit from Bakhmut, near a medical carriage shot by Russian artillery, two blanketed bodies lay for the second day. Because of the increased danger, no one could pick them up. As it turned out later, there was a medic behind the wheel of the car who evacuated the wounded soldier,” says Georgy Ivanchenko. He adds that in April 2023, Bakhmut was closed to volunteers and journalists. The city gradually emptied.
A few months later, the city of Bakhmut was almost completely destroyed. “In Bakhmut today there is not a single habitable area: the shelling does not subside for a minute, there are simply more intense and less intense times. However, people and even children still remain in the city, and the issue of their evacuation is becoming more and more complicated,” Vlada Liberova wrote on social networks. “Almost every day people die there, and the number of fresh graves in the local cemetery has almost doubled since December: and these are the ones who were able to be buried. And how many who could not? Every day our defenders die trying to hold the city, and we believe that we will be able to resist, that their great sacrifice will not be in vain.”
Konstantin Liberov— Ukrainian photographer, photojournalist. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2023). One of his photos was selected by Time magazine among the 100 Best Photos of 2022. During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, together with his wife Vlada Liberova, they filmed the consequences of the war in Kharkiv, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Svyatogorsk, Nikolaev, Bucha, Irpen, Kyiv and other cities. Photos of Konstantin were published by The Kyiv Independent, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journa, The Insider, The Independent.
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Heorhii Ivanchenko— Ukrainian photographer, who since February 2022 works as a freelance reporter in the field of documentary and journalistic photography. From the first months of the invasion, he began filming for the Associated Press and the European Pressphoto Agency. Starting from Borodyanshchyna, where Georgy was born, continuing his journey through the front line: Mykolaiv, Kharkiv region, Kherson region, now his attention was concentrated on Donetsk region. The turning point in his photography was that he lived in Bakhmut for almost a month. Throughout December and January, he documented the lives of the townspeople, carrying a backpack and sleeping bag, sharing life with locals in basements, volunteers, medics, military, and firemen. In April, while working on material about Chasiv Yar in Donbas, his car was shot and destroyed by a Russian shell. Now the author continues his reflection on the numerous situations that have happened on his way and is working on the creation of his first project “Way of War” (working title).
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Danylo Pavlov— photojournalist since 2009, worked in the regional media of Donetsk, and later in the media holding “Segodnya” and the UNIAN agency. He also worked as a commercial photographer for several Ukrainian companies. In photojournalism, it focuses on creating social photo stories and illustrating long-read reports. In addition to working in traditional media, Danylo also contributed to the online magazine The Ukrainians, and later became responsible for the visual direction of a separate edition of Reporters, which now exists both online and in print. Danylo continues to photograph and cover the events following the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. He reports from de-occupied territories and military positions, and is currently working on a long-running photo project documenting the impact of war on servicemen and civilians in need of plastic surgery. He also collaborates with the State Emergency Service, for which he was awarded the State Badge of Honor last year.
Photographer's social networks:
Instagram
Facebook
Recall that the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers has started a series of materials dedicated to key events of the Russian war against Ukraine, where he publishes memoirs and photographs of Ukrainian documentary photographers.
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
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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