13 photo essays through the eyes of photographers about how Ukraine suffered from the military violence of the Russians. Through personal stories and emotions, the documentarians offer Western audiences a better understanding of the unchanging strength of human resilience of Ukrainians during Invasion of the Russian Federation. Photoreports that tell about the experiences of the photographers themselves and their fellow citizens during the war, prepared by Ukrainian Warchive.
The idea of creating the book crystallized in the art director of the photo archive Mykhailo Pedan after positive feedback on the exhibition “Invasion”, which was organized together with the Center for Photography in Stockholm.
“The book is compared with the concept of an exhibition of Ukrainian photographers. Then the audience reacted emotionally to the text component of this installation. Therefore, we started working on a photobook,” explains the co-founder of Ukrainian Warchive, photo editor Emine Ziyatdinova. She notes, first of all, that this publication is not only about the people or places that are depicted in the photographs, but also about the photographers themselves who live and work in Ukraine.“Each of the 13 photographers makes their professional contribution to documenting the destruction in the homeland”, - emphasizes the photo editor.
All essays are different: from photos from the front to photos of landscapes that, at the same time, complement each other. The book includes the work of professional photojournalists. Alexander Gladielov, Yevhen Maloletka, Yulia Kochetova and Elena Grom have covered the Russian-Ukrainian war extensively since 2014. Visual artists such as Sasha Kurmaz, Yana Kononova, Lisa Bukreeva and Roman Bordun, shifted their focus from existential reflections to modern society, capturing the harsh reality of Russian military aggression. Roman Pashkovsky moved from studio lighting and portraits to photographing de-occupied territories. Vyacheslav Ratynskyi, known Illumination news for international and local media, directed the lens to conflict photography. Serhiy Polezhaka, who has been running his own company since 2016 and has mainly worked with virtual reality and IT, returned to his panoramic camera in 2022.
Olya Koval, who is currently studying cinematography at Kyiv National University, uses her camera to explore how daily life has changed in her hometown. Dmitry Kozatsky, former head of the press service of the Azov regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, became the eyes and voice of the Ukrainian military, which was surrounded on Azovstal.
Emine explains that the editors of the book sought to include in it a selection of photos that are combined by a single story, rather than individual snapshots: “Because they allow a deeper understanding of what is happening and what the context is. It can trigger empathy more quickly.”
“13 Stories of War” will see the world in English, because it is designed specifically for a Western audience. However, says Emine, this book is also important for Ukrainian photography. Its purpose is to explain how documentary filmmakers work, as well as to convey the perspective of Ukrainian photographers on the war they are experiencing at home.
The presentation of the book will take place on February 21 at Haselblad Museum in Sweden, after which it can be ordered on the website. The publication will also be brought to Kyiv in March, presented in Naked Room Gallery. In May, the book will be presented at the Book Arsenal.
“13 Stories of War” is published with the support of the Swedish Institute, the Hasselblad Foundation and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, IWM) as part of the Documenting Ukraine program.
All photos are part of the collection Ukranian Warchive (Ukrainian Photo Archive of War). It is a digital archive that collects and stores photos of professional photographers documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war. The goal is to preserve the photographic heritage and memory of the war, to support Ukrainian photographers in documenting events, while promoting their work and unique vision.
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
13 photo essays through the eyes of photographers about how Ukraine suffered from the military violence of the Russians. Through personal stories and emotions, the documentarians offer Western audiences a better understanding of the unchanging strength of human resilience of Ukrainians during Invasion of the Russian Federation. Photoreports that tell about the experiences of the photographers themselves and their fellow citizens during the war, prepared by Ukrainian Warchive.
The idea of creating the book crystallized in the art director of the photo archive Mykhailo Pedan after positive feedback on the exhibition “Invasion”, which was organized together with the Center for Photography in Stockholm.
“The book is compared with the concept of an exhibition of Ukrainian photographers. Then the audience reacted emotionally to the text component of this installation. Therefore, we started working on a photobook,” explains the co-founder of Ukrainian Warchive, photo editor Emine Ziyatdinova. She notes, first of all, that this publication is not only about the people or places that are depicted in the photographs, but also about the photographers themselves who live and work in Ukraine.“Each of the 13 photographers makes their professional contribution to documenting the destruction in the homeland”, - emphasizes the photo editor.
All essays are different: from photos from the front to photos of landscapes that, at the same time, complement each other. The book includes the work of professional photojournalists. Alexander Gladielov, Yevhen Maloletka, Yulia Kochetova and Elena Grom have covered the Russian-Ukrainian war extensively since 2014. Visual artists such as Sasha Kurmaz, Yana Kononova, Lisa Bukreeva and Roman Bordun, shifted their focus from existential reflections to modern society, capturing the harsh reality of Russian military aggression. Roman Pashkovsky moved from studio lighting and portraits to photographing de-occupied territories. Vyacheslav Ratynskyi, known Illumination news for international and local media, directed the lens to conflict photography. Serhiy Polezhaka, who has been running his own company since 2016 and has mainly worked with virtual reality and IT, returned to his panoramic camera in 2022.
Olya Koval, who is currently studying cinematography at Kyiv National University, uses her camera to explore how daily life has changed in her hometown. Dmitry Kozatsky, former head of the press service of the Azov regiment of the National Guard of Ukraine, became the eyes and voice of the Ukrainian military, which was surrounded on Azovstal.
Emine explains that the editors of the book sought to include in it a selection of photos that are combined by a single story, rather than individual snapshots: “Because they allow a deeper understanding of what is happening and what the context is. It can trigger empathy more quickly.”
“13 Stories of War” will see the world in English, because it is designed specifically for a Western audience. However, says Emine, this book is also important for Ukrainian photography. Its purpose is to explain how documentary filmmakers work, as well as to convey the perspective of Ukrainian photographers on the war they are experiencing at home.
The presentation of the book will take place on February 21 at Haselblad Museum in Sweden, after which it can be ordered on the website. The publication will also be brought to Kyiv in March, presented in Naked Room Gallery. In May, the book will be presented at the Book Arsenal.
“13 Stories of War” is published with the support of the Swedish Institute, the Hasselblad Foundation and the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, IWM) as part of the Documenting Ukraine program.
All photos are part of the collection Ukranian Warchive (Ukrainian Photo Archive of War). It is a digital archive that collects and stores photos of professional photographers documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war. The goal is to preserve the photographic heritage and memory of the war, to support Ukrainian photographers in documenting events, while promoting their work and unique vision.
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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