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Massive missile attack on critical infrastructure. The aftermath of the shelling of Kyiv in the photos of Yevhen Zavhorodnyi and Serhiy Korovainyi

10.1.2024
2
min read

On October 10, 2022, the Russian military carried out the first massive missile strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and, at the same time, the most massive missile strike since the beginning of a full-scale missile strike on the entire territory of Ukraine. The missiles were launched in several waves from the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as from aircraft. The Russian military used 84 missiles, the air defense forces managed to shoot down 43. Photographers Serhiy Korovaynyi and Yevhenii Zavgorodny captured the aftermath of shelling in Kyiv.

Wounded near the site of a missile strike near Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Not a movie

On that day, 23 people were killed by shelling, another 105 were wounded. In total, during October 10 and during less intense shelling on the following two days, 28 energy infrastructure facilities were damaged by rocket attacks.

The site of the missile strike near Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

And already on October 17, 2022, the Russian military used cruise missiles of air, sea and land-based bases, ballistic missiles, anti-aircraft guided missiles, and for the first time attack UAVs of the type “Shahed-136".

Photographer Yevgeny Zavgorodny arrived at the scene after the first wave of missile attack. Then there was the next drone attack and he filmed the shelling “in real time”. He recalls that debris began to fall and his colleagues, who filmed the destruction, as if coming out of smoke.

Within a week, there was another attack on Kiev. This time with missiles and for the first time by Iranian drones. October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

“One of the old houses came under fire. I went higher up the street to “merge” the photos onto the computer. Just a few meters later, a completely different life reigned, cafes worked, people walked. If it were not for colleagues who walked with the inscription “Press”, it would be very difficult to find the scene of the tragedy. I was very impressed by this contrast,” says Yevhen Zavhorodnyi.

Near the place of impact - Train Station. a lot of people with suitcases. October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

Evgeny Zavgorodny says that during the shooting there was very good natural lighting.

“The sun rose, rays of light broke through the smoke and it seemed that the scenery for the film was built here. But it's not a movie, it's a war,” says the photographer.

Rescuers disassemble debris and get the injured. A young couple who were left in their bed forever died in that house. on October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

Not staging

Photographer Serhiy Korovaynyi well remembered October 10, 2022 in Kyiv.

“I heard explosions very far away, in Obolon. I immediately jumped into the car and drove to the scene. He drove very fast, bypassed traffic jams and damaged the protection from the bottom of the car, - Serhiy Korovaynyi says. “I drove further, the car scratched on the asphalt and made just terrible sounds.”

Sergey arrived when burning cars were already extinguished at the intersection of Shevchenko and Vladimirskaya streets. It seemed that everything was fine, but again there was a very loud explosion. All the people around fell on the asphalt.

“I followed the ambulance to the train station. Glass was blown off the huge skyscraper and there were a lot of injured people. Blood poured over people's faces. I photographed everything,” Korovaynyi says.

People at the site of a rocket strike in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Serhiy Korovaynyi has two vivid memories from that day. The first is that he filmed women with bloodied faces and posted photos on Instagram.

“They wrote me a comment that this is a staged photo and why the faces of women are “ironed to the brim”. I knew that such cases happened, but for the first time I personally faced such accusations,” explains the photographer.

Military and service workers at the intersection of Vladimirskaya Street and Shevchenko Boulevard, where a Russian rocket hit. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

The second memory of a fellow photographer who took a picture of a man with a badly injured face.

“He was photographing a man whose face was all covered in blood. I photographed him for a very long time, from different sides, brought the camera practically to the very face. His photos turned out to be strong, but to shoot injured people in this way is not very good,” Serhiy says.

Injured man near the office center Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Photographer Yevhen Zavhorodnyi has been shooting for about 20 years for both Ukrainian media and foreign agencies. He began by documenting the events of the Orange Revolution in 2004. His photos were published by “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “The Guardian”, “Deutsche Welle” and others. Before the full-scale invasion, he was filming the work of the Ukrainian parliament for a couple of years. Since the beginning of the invasion, it documents the consequences of Russian aggression. Yevhen's works were exhibited at collective exhibitions in Ukraine and the EU.

Photographer's social networks: Facebook, Instagram

Serhiy Korovaynyi — Ukrainian documentary photographer, actively covering the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Collaborates with international publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Guardian, Financaial Times and others. In his projects, he focuses on the topics of the Russian-Ukrainian war, ecology, and various aspects of Ukrainian modernity. He was educated in the United States in the Master's Program in Visual Storytelling as a Fulbright Program Fellow. In 2018, he joined The Gate, a leading Ukrainian photo agency. Sergey's works have been exhibited at numerous personal and collective exhibitions in Ukraine, the USA and the EU.

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: Silence and hope in the midst of darkness and pain. The consequences of the missile strike in the Dnieper on the photos of Evgeny Zavgorodny

The project is implemented thanks to supportCHANGES.

On October 10, 2022, the Russian military carried out the first massive missile strike on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and, at the same time, the most massive missile strike since the beginning of a full-scale missile strike on the entire territory of Ukraine. The missiles were launched in several waves from the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as from aircraft. The Russian military used 84 missiles, the air defense forces managed to shoot down 43. Photographers Serhiy Korovaynyi and Yevhenii Zavgorodny captured the aftermath of shelling in Kyiv.

Wounded near the site of a missile strike near Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Not a movie

On that day, 23 people were killed by shelling, another 105 were wounded. In total, during October 10 and during less intense shelling on the following two days, 28 energy infrastructure facilities were damaged by rocket attacks.

The site of the missile strike near Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

And already on October 17, 2022, the Russian military used cruise missiles of air, sea and land-based bases, ballistic missiles, anti-aircraft guided missiles, and for the first time attack UAVs of the type “Shahed-136".

Photographer Yevgeny Zavgorodny arrived at the scene after the first wave of missile attack. Then there was the next drone attack and he filmed the shelling “in real time”. He recalls that debris began to fall and his colleagues, who filmed the destruction, as if coming out of smoke.

Within a week, there was another attack on Kiev. This time with missiles and for the first time by Iranian drones. October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

“One of the old houses came under fire. I went higher up the street to “merge” the photos onto the computer. Just a few meters later, a completely different life reigned, cafes worked, people walked. If it were not for colleagues who walked with the inscription “Press”, it would be very difficult to find the scene of the tragedy. I was very impressed by this contrast,” says Yevhen Zavhorodnyi.

Near the place of impact - Train Station. a lot of people with suitcases. October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

Evgeny Zavgorodny says that during the shooting there was very good natural lighting.

“The sun rose, rays of light broke through the smoke and it seemed that the scenery for the film was built here. But it's not a movie, it's a war,” says the photographer.

Rescuers disassemble debris and get the injured. A young couple who were left in their bed forever died in that house. on October 17, 2022. Photo by Yevhen Zavhorodnyi

Not staging

Photographer Serhiy Korovaynyi well remembered October 10, 2022 in Kyiv.

“I heard explosions very far away, in Obolon. I immediately jumped into the car and drove to the scene. He drove very fast, bypassed traffic jams and damaged the protection from the bottom of the car, - Serhiy Korovaynyi says. “I drove further, the car scratched on the asphalt and made just terrible sounds.”

Sergey arrived when burning cars were already extinguished at the intersection of Shevchenko and Vladimirskaya streets. It seemed that everything was fine, but again there was a very loud explosion. All the people around fell on the asphalt.

“I followed the ambulance to the train station. Glass was blown off the huge skyscraper and there were a lot of injured people. Blood poured over people's faces. I photographed everything,” Korovaynyi says.

People at the site of a rocket strike in Shevchenko Park in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Serhiy Korovaynyi has two vivid memories from that day. The first is that he filmed women with bloodied faces and posted photos on Instagram.

“They wrote me a comment that this is a staged photo and why the faces of women are “ironed to the brim”. I knew that such cases happened, but for the first time I personally faced such accusations,” explains the photographer.

Military and service workers at the intersection of Vladimirskaya Street and Shevchenko Boulevard, where a Russian rocket hit. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

The second memory of a fellow photographer who took a picture of a man with a badly injured face.

“He was photographing a man whose face was all covered in blood. I photographed him for a very long time, from different sides, brought the camera practically to the very face. His photos turned out to be strong, but to shoot injured people in this way is not very good,” Serhiy says.

Injured man near the office center Detek Tower in Kyiv. October 10, 2022. Photo by Serhiy Korovaynyi

Photographer Yevhen Zavhorodnyi has been shooting for about 20 years for both Ukrainian media and foreign agencies. He began by documenting the events of the Orange Revolution in 2004. His photos were published by “The Wall Street Journal”, “The New York Times”, “The Guardian”, “Deutsche Welle” and others. Before the full-scale invasion, he was filming the work of the Ukrainian parliament for a couple of years. Since the beginning of the invasion, it documents the consequences of Russian aggression. Yevhen's works were exhibited at collective exhibitions in Ukraine and the EU.

Photographer's social networks: Facebook, Instagram

Serhiy Korovaynyi — Ukrainian documentary photographer, actively covering the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Collaborates with international publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Guardian, Financaial Times and others. In his projects, he focuses on the topics of the Russian-Ukrainian war, ecology, and various aspects of Ukrainian modernity. He was educated in the United States in the Master's Program in Visual Storytelling as a Fulbright Program Fellow. In 2018, he joined The Gate, a leading Ukrainian photo agency. Sergey's works have been exhibited at numerous personal and collective exhibitions in Ukraine, the USA and the EU.

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: Silence and hope in the midst of darkness and pain. The consequences of the missile strike in the Dnieper on the photos of Evgeny Zavgorodny

The project is implemented thanks to supportCHANGES.

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