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Yakiv Lyashenko and Yevhen Gertner show the aftermath of the attack on the Nova Poshta terminal near Kharkiv.

12.11.2023
2
min read

Please be aware that the material contains sensitive photographs and may be traumatic.

On the evening of 21 October, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile attack on the Nova Poshta terminal in Korotych, Kharkiv region. The head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that the missiles were fired from the S-300 system.

"An ordinary civilian facility. Unfortunately, there are casualties," said President Volodymyr Zelensky. "All services are working on the site, and rescuing is ongoing."

As of 1:00 p.m., six peoPhoto: Yevhen Gertnerple had died as a result of the rocket attack and sixteen others had sustained injuries and shrapnel wounds. Four of them received medical treatment. According to the mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, the victims are residents of Kharkiv, Pesochin, Lyubotyn, and Izium. They were all employees of Nova Poshta.

22 October was declared a day of mourning: "We will work and honor every fallen hero of Nova Poshta. Every person who died in this war".

Photographer Yevhen Gertner and his colleagues arrived at the scene just half an hour later. Yevhen took pictures of everything at the scene, but not of the mutilated bodies.

"I kept the footage for the Ukrainian Military Archive. We will need them later," says Yevhen Gertner. "The cynicism and cruelty of the Russian army, once again attacking civilian infrastructure under the guise of victory, was what struck me most."

Photo: Yevhen Gertner

Photographer Yakov Lyashenko arrived at the scene after midnight, when journalists were allowed in. By then the fire had been extinguished and rescue operations were over. Forensic experts were working inside the destroyed Nova Poshta terminal.

"Parcels were scattered all over the place and the sorting robots, which are supposed to transport boxes of parcels, were switched on. The bodies of the deceased Nova Poshta employees were lying on the floor," says Yakiv Lyashenko.

Photo: Yakiv Lyashenko

Yakiv Lyashenko — Ukrainian photographer from Kharkov. He began his professional career in 2012. After the beginning of a full-scale invasion, he worked as a fixer for famous photographers and in parallel documented the events of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Currently a freelance photojournalist at EPA Agency.

Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook.

Yevhen Gertner — Ukrainian photographer from Kharkov. He started professionally in photography in early 2021 as an independent photojournalist and documentary photographer. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, it documents the war crimes of the Russian army, environmental and social problems caused by the war.

Photographer's social networks: Instagram

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Marusya Maruzhenko
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar


Read also: The State Emergency Service fought the fire for 5 hours. Large-scale fires in Kharkiv after the attack of Russians on the lens of Yakov Lyashenko

The material was created with the support of The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.

Please be aware that the material contains sensitive photographs and may be traumatic.

On the evening of 21 October, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile attack on the Nova Poshta terminal in Korotych, Kharkiv region. The head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, Oleh Syniehubov, said that the missiles were fired from the S-300 system.

"An ordinary civilian facility. Unfortunately, there are casualties," said President Volodymyr Zelensky. "All services are working on the site, and rescuing is ongoing."

As of 1:00 p.m., six peoPhoto: Yevhen Gertnerple had died as a result of the rocket attack and sixteen others had sustained injuries and shrapnel wounds. Four of them received medical treatment. According to the mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, the victims are residents of Kharkiv, Pesochin, Lyubotyn, and Izium. They were all employees of Nova Poshta.

22 October was declared a day of mourning: "We will work and honor every fallen hero of Nova Poshta. Every person who died in this war".

Photographer Yevhen Gertner and his colleagues arrived at the scene just half an hour later. Yevhen took pictures of everything at the scene, but not of the mutilated bodies.

"I kept the footage for the Ukrainian Military Archive. We will need them later," says Yevhen Gertner. "The cynicism and cruelty of the Russian army, once again attacking civilian infrastructure under the guise of victory, was what struck me most."

Photo: Yevhen Gertner

Photographer Yakov Lyashenko arrived at the scene after midnight, when journalists were allowed in. By then the fire had been extinguished and rescue operations were over. Forensic experts were working inside the destroyed Nova Poshta terminal.

"Parcels were scattered all over the place and the sorting robots, which are supposed to transport boxes of parcels, were switched on. The bodies of the deceased Nova Poshta employees were lying on the floor," says Yakiv Lyashenko.

Photo: Yakiv Lyashenko

Yakiv Lyashenko — Ukrainian photographer from Kharkov. He began his professional career in 2012. After the beginning of a full-scale invasion, he worked as a fixer for famous photographers and in parallel documented the events of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Currently a freelance photojournalist at EPA Agency.

Photographer's social networks: Instagram, Facebook.

Yevhen Gertner — Ukrainian photographer from Kharkov. He started professionally in photography in early 2021 as an independent photojournalist and documentary photographer. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, it documents the war crimes of the Russian army, environmental and social problems caused by the war.

Photographer's social networks: Instagram

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Marusya Maruzhenko
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar


Read also: The State Emergency Service fought the fire for 5 hours. Large-scale fires in Kharkiv after the attack of Russians on the lens of Yakov Lyashenko

The material was created with the support of The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation.

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