On June 27, 2022, Russian troops struck missiles on Kremenchuk, Poltava region. One of them hit the largest shopping center of the city — Amstor. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, this is the largest tragedy in Poltava region in terms of the number of casualties — 22 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured. Photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny went to the scene and filmed the aftermath of the rocket attack on Kremenchuk.
Only scorched earth remained from the largest shopping center of Kremenchuk. On the charred metal structures of the shopping center “Amstor” there were still two signs: Comfy and Rozetka. Plastic letters melted from the heat and resembled children's crafts made of plasticine. A flock of frightened birds flew into the sky above them. The territory of the shopping center was fenced off with red and white tape, and rescuers dismantled the rubble centimeter by centimeter. On that day, 22 people died there, and more than a hundred were injured.
On the day of the tragedy, photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny was in Lviv. He came for security training for journalists working in conditions of war.
“I worked in coworking on Rynok Square and saw the news about the Amstor shopping center,” recalls Yevhenii Zavgorodny. “I already had a ticket home, but I changed it and went to Kremenchuk.”
The photographer adds that he surprisingly took the camera with him and he did not have to return to Kiev after it.
When Eugene arrived in Kremenchuk, rescuers had already extinguished the fire and dismantled the rubble. Utilities swept away the glass knocked out of the windows by the blast wave and clogged the windows with wooden plates, the electricians updated the network. Since the missile attack was in the afternoon, there were a lot of people in Amstor. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there could be up to a thousand visitors. Rescuers worked at the scene of the tragedy for several days and found the remains of human bodies. To understand how many people they belong to, it became possible only after DNA examination.
Evgeny Zavgorodny photographed the work of rescuers and people who came to help or find out about their loved ones.
“I was lent a helmet and I was able to take it inside the building. The first thing that struck visually was the keychains on the keys to the storage cameras. They just ran away,” recalls the photographer.
Evgeny Zavgorodny remembered the story of paramedic and volunteer Yuri Gudzi, who came to save the wounded.
“He said that the townspeople who were near the shopping center wrapped wet T-shirts over their faces and went to pull people out. Suddenly someone started shouting “Medic, medic!” and they all ran to the call. However, it was only a hand under the debris,” says Yevhenii Zavgorodny.
Yevhenii Zavgorodniy 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
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
The project is implemented thanks to support of ZMIN.
On June 27, 2022, Russian troops struck missiles on Kremenchuk, Poltava region. One of them hit the largest shopping center of the city — Amstor. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, this is the largest tragedy in Poltava region in terms of the number of casualties — 22 people were killed and more than a hundred were injured. Photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny went to the scene and filmed the aftermath of the rocket attack on Kremenchuk.
Only scorched earth remained from the largest shopping center of Kremenchuk. On the charred metal structures of the shopping center “Amstor” there were still two signs: Comfy and Rozetka. Plastic letters melted from the heat and resembled children's crafts made of plasticine. A flock of frightened birds flew into the sky above them. The territory of the shopping center was fenced off with red and white tape, and rescuers dismantled the rubble centimeter by centimeter. On that day, 22 people died there, and more than a hundred were injured.
On the day of the tragedy, photographer Yevhenii Zavgorodny was in Lviv. He came for security training for journalists working in conditions of war.
“I worked in coworking on Rynok Square and saw the news about the Amstor shopping center,” recalls Yevhenii Zavgorodny. “I already had a ticket home, but I changed it and went to Kremenchuk.”
The photographer adds that he surprisingly took the camera with him and he did not have to return to Kiev after it.
When Eugene arrived in Kremenchuk, rescuers had already extinguished the fire and dismantled the rubble. Utilities swept away the glass knocked out of the windows by the blast wave and clogged the windows with wooden plates, the electricians updated the network. Since the missile attack was in the afternoon, there were a lot of people in Amstor. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there could be up to a thousand visitors. Rescuers worked at the scene of the tragedy for several days and found the remains of human bodies. To understand how many people they belong to, it became possible only after DNA examination.
Evgeny Zavgorodny photographed the work of rescuers and people who came to help or find out about their loved ones.
“I was lent a helmet and I was able to take it inside the building. The first thing that struck visually was the keychains on the keys to the storage cameras. They just ran away,” recalls the photographer.
Evgeny Zavgorodny remembered the story of paramedic and volunteer Yuri Gudzi, who came to save the wounded.
“He said that the townspeople who were near the shopping center wrapped wet T-shirts over their faces and went to pull people out. Suddenly someone started shouting “Medic, medic!” and they all ran to the call. However, it was only a hand under the debris,” says Yevhenii Zavgorodny.
Yevhenii Zavgorodniy 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
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Bild-editor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
The project is implemented thanks to support of ZMIN.
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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