Cirkuny is a village behind the Kharkiv ring road, the administrative center of the Cirkunov community, which was occupied by the Russians on the first day of the invasion, February 24, 2024. For 72 days, the inhabitants of Cirkuny suffered from Russian terror and looting. The enemy did not allow civilians to evacuate to the territory controlled by Ukraine, using them as a “living shield”. On May 7, 2022, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Cirkuny, a northeastern suburb of Kharkov, from the Russians.
On the second anniversary of the de-occupation of Circuses, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Yakov Lyashenko, who documented the consequences of the Russian invasion.
“This was a significant event for Kharkiv, because after the liberation of the Circuses the shelling of the city decreased significantly,” says photographer Yakov Lyashenko. “From Cirkunv, Russians shelled Kharkiv with artillery. That is why it was important for the Defense Forces to push the enemy away from the city. The liberation of this village played a role in the preservation of Kharkiv.”
Kharkiv photographer documented the first days of the de-occupation of Cirkuns. He recalls that at first it was very difficult for the media to get there, because the situation was still dangerous.
He first went to Cirkuna with volunteers delivering humanitarian aid: “People were very happy about the de-occupation. They were tired, but happy.”
Subsequently, Yakov and other photographers were allowed to document the effects of the Russian occupation. There he saw destroyed houses and streets. In particular, the broken Russian “KamAZ” was imprinted in the memory of the photographer. Various shells were scattered near the car, which were supposed to carry death to Kharkov. “These were ammunition of different calibers, mines, charges for RPGs. There was a lot of diverse ammunition,” Yakiv recalls.
“Then information began to appear that the Russians are mining everything. I remember an abandoned yellow car in the middle of the street. There was a slightly open window that seemed to hint that it was worth opening the car door. There, quite likely, there could be a deadly danger lurking. There the Russians could have left a grenade that would have worked when they opened this door,” Yakov says of the danger that still remained in the village even after the Russians left.
Ukrainian units of pyrotechnics and international non-governmental organizations were able to completely mine Circuses only in August 2023. Every day the sappers found at least 20 rounds of ammunition there.
Yakiv Liashenko — 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.
The project is implemented thanks to support The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
Cirkuny is a village behind the Kharkiv ring road, the administrative center of the Cirkunov community, which was occupied by the Russians on the first day of the invasion, February 24, 2024. For 72 days, the inhabitants of Cirkuny suffered from Russian terror and looting. The enemy did not allow civilians to evacuate to the territory controlled by Ukraine, using them as a “living shield”. On May 7, 2022, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Cirkuny, a northeastern suburb of Kharkov, from the Russians.
On the second anniversary of the de-occupation of Circuses, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Yakov Lyashenko, who documented the consequences of the Russian invasion.
“This was a significant event for Kharkiv, because after the liberation of the Circuses the shelling of the city decreased significantly,” says photographer Yakov Lyashenko. “From Cirkunv, Russians shelled Kharkiv with artillery. That is why it was important for the Defense Forces to push the enemy away from the city. The liberation of this village played a role in the preservation of Kharkiv.”
Kharkiv photographer documented the first days of the de-occupation of Cirkuns. He recalls that at first it was very difficult for the media to get there, because the situation was still dangerous.
He first went to Cirkuna with volunteers delivering humanitarian aid: “People were very happy about the de-occupation. They were tired, but happy.”
Subsequently, Yakov and other photographers were allowed to document the effects of the Russian occupation. There he saw destroyed houses and streets. In particular, the broken Russian “KamAZ” was imprinted in the memory of the photographer. Various shells were scattered near the car, which were supposed to carry death to Kharkov. “These were ammunition of different calibers, mines, charges for RPGs. There was a lot of diverse ammunition,” Yakiv recalls.
“Then information began to appear that the Russians are mining everything. I remember an abandoned yellow car in the middle of the street. There was a slightly open window that seemed to hint that it was worth opening the car door. There, quite likely, there could be a deadly danger lurking. There the Russians could have left a grenade that would have worked when they opened this door,” Yakov says of the danger that still remained in the village even after the Russians left.
Ukrainian units of pyrotechnics and international non-governmental organizations were able to completely mine Circuses only in August 2023. Every day the sappers found at least 20 rounds of ammunition there.
Yakiv Liashenko — 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.
The project is implemented thanks to support The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Katya Moskalyuk
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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