On the evening of August 7, 2023, the Russian army launched two missile strikes on the center of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. As a result of the attack, multi-storey residential buildings were destroyed, 88 people were injured and 10 were killed.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Vyacheslav Ratinsky, who captured the aftermath of the missile strike on Pokrovsk.
On the evening of August 7, 2023, the Russian military launched two Iskander missiles on the city of Pokrovsk. The first missile strike was at 19:15 on a high-rise building, the second at 19:52 on a neighboring building. The second blow came at a time when police and rescuers had already arrived at the scene of the first explosion. The rocket attack destroyed high-rise residential buildings, a private building, a hotel, and injured 88 people, including two children, 10 people died. Among the wounded were many policemen and rescuers who arrived after the first missile strike and came under repeated attack.
Photographer Vyacheslav Ratinsky worked all August 2023 in Zaporizhia and Zaporizhzhya region. On August 7, he and his colleagues went to shoot artillery work of the 37th Marine Brigade.
“We came closer to the positions in the early morning, where we waited all day for permission to shoot. Work began at 16 o'clock, - recalls Vyacheslav Ratynsky. - The crew of the M109 self-propelled artillery installation was photographed. The guys had just received cassette shells and poured them deliciously over the invaders. We managed to shoot just a few shots — and mines began to fly nearby. The military decided to change position so as not to come under fire, and we were ordered to sew. We went back to Zaporozhye.”
When Vyacheslav, after two hours on the road, had almost reached Zaporizhia, information began to appear about the heavy shelling of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. The army of the Russian Federation attacked the city center, in particular on the residential building where the pizzeria “Don Carleone” is located. Ratinsky and his colleagues were taken back to Donetsk region.
Information about the missile attack on Pokrovsk came in rather slowly and was inaccurate. In a short time, there was a report of a second strike — on the hotel “Druzhba” next to the pizzeria.
“Rescuers, police, medics and volunteers were already working at the site of the first explosion. People helped the victims of the first strike and at that moment the Russians struck the second,” says Vyacheslav Ratinsky.
The photographer recalls that he stayed at the hotel “Druzhba” earlier.
“At the beginning of the summer, I stayed at the hotel for a whole month, and at the pizzeria Don Carleone I had breakfast and dinner every day. There was a very friendly staff. When I entered the hotel for the first time, I had a depressing and unpleasant feeling. I was convinced that sooner or later the hotel “Druzhba” would be hit,” says Ratinsky.
He lived on the fifth floor in a room that was located somewhere in the middle of the building. The hotel was always full to capacity: journalists, volunteers, as well as the military stayed there for respite and meetings with families. Fortunately, the hotel was empty at the time of the missile strike — people were evacuated the day before due to the threat of attack.
Vyacheslav Ratinsky and his colleagues arrived at the scene of the tragedy at midnight. It was very dark, rescue services and police were completing their work.
“I filmed the damaged houses and decided to find a top spot to shoot. He went up to the house opposite. On the top floor, I met a resident of one of the apartments, who desperately knocked on her door,” says Vyacheslav.
The woman's name was Lydia, her face was covered with bruises and cuts, and her clothes were covered in blood. During the missile attack, she was at home, she was cut by broken glass from smashed windows. Doctors took Lydia to a local hospital to provide assistance. When she returned, the door of the apartment was locked. She explained that her elderly father had apparently shut himself in the apartment and was sleeping.
Another woman, Valentina, looked out from the next apartment. The doors of her apartment were bent inward and they did not open. Vyacheslav helped her open the door and went inside.
“Everything around was turned upside down. The woman was disoriented and confused and fortunately had no serious injuries. In this mess, she could not find her phone and glasses. From her balcony there was a view of the street and the destroyed houses,” recalls the photographer.
Then Vyacheslav Ratinsky went to the local hospital, but most of the wounded were already taken to the hospital in Dnipro.
“There was a group of rescuers at the entrance, waiting nervously for news about their injured colleagues, who were being resuscitated in the hospital. After a while, the wounded were transferred to ambulances and taken to Dnipro. It was already a deep night, and we went to look for a place to stay,” says Ratynsky.
In the morning, the photographer and his colleagues again arrived at the scene of the tragedy. The State Emergency Service was already working there — they dismantled the rubble, the utilities carefully cleaned the street, and the residents of the surviving houses put their destroyed apartments in order.
Vyacheslav decided to climb into the house again and ask how things are with the women he met at night.
“I knocked on Lydia's apartment, she opened it and invited me inside. The apartment was all turned upside down, the windows knocked out. The woman said she felt fine. However, her face was still in baked blood,” says Vyacheslav Ratynskyi.
At some point, the photographer noticed that in the next room on the bed someone was sleeping, covered with a blanket.
“This picture struck me greatly: a destroyed hotel is visible outside the window, the apartment is badly damaged, and an elderly man sleeps peacefully on the bed. It was Lydia's father, 85-year-old Vladimir, who closed himself in the apartment at night and slept, - says Vyacheslav Ratynsky. - Lydia explained that her father slept in the same place and at the time of the impact. A broken window flew over his head, and he didn't even wake up.”
Vyacheslav Ratynskyi ---- Ukrainian documentary photographer and photojournalist. He has been working in the field of photojournalism for more than 10 years. Collaborates with international and Ukrainian news agencies and media, including Reuters, The Guardian, Le Monde, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine and others. He has been published in many Western and Ukrainian media, including: The Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel and others.
Participant in many photo exhibitions in Europe, USA, Japan and South Korea. His photographs have been published in several books. Vyacheslav Ratinsky works in Ukraine. In his work, the photographer explores the impact of war on society, social and political problems.
Social networks:Facebook, Instagram
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
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine
On the evening of August 7, 2023, the Russian army launched two missile strikes on the center of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. As a result of the attack, multi-storey residential buildings were destroyed, 88 people were injured and 10 were killed.
The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Vyacheslav Ratinsky, who captured the aftermath of the missile strike on Pokrovsk.
On the evening of August 7, 2023, the Russian military launched two Iskander missiles on the city of Pokrovsk. The first missile strike was at 19:15 on a high-rise building, the second at 19:52 on a neighboring building. The second blow came at a time when police and rescuers had already arrived at the scene of the first explosion. The rocket attack destroyed high-rise residential buildings, a private building, a hotel, and injured 88 people, including two children, 10 people died. Among the wounded were many policemen and rescuers who arrived after the first missile strike and came under repeated attack.
Photographer Vyacheslav Ratinsky worked all August 2023 in Zaporizhia and Zaporizhzhya region. On August 7, he and his colleagues went to shoot artillery work of the 37th Marine Brigade.
“We came closer to the positions in the early morning, where we waited all day for permission to shoot. Work began at 16 o'clock, - recalls Vyacheslav Ratynsky. - The crew of the M109 self-propelled artillery installation was photographed. The guys had just received cassette shells and poured them deliciously over the invaders. We managed to shoot just a few shots — and mines began to fly nearby. The military decided to change position so as not to come under fire, and we were ordered to sew. We went back to Zaporozhye.”
When Vyacheslav, after two hours on the road, had almost reached Zaporizhia, information began to appear about the heavy shelling of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. The army of the Russian Federation attacked the city center, in particular on the residential building where the pizzeria “Don Carleone” is located. Ratinsky and his colleagues were taken back to Donetsk region.
Information about the missile attack on Pokrovsk came in rather slowly and was inaccurate. In a short time, there was a report of a second strike — on the hotel “Druzhba” next to the pizzeria.
“Rescuers, police, medics and volunteers were already working at the site of the first explosion. People helped the victims of the first strike and at that moment the Russians struck the second,” says Vyacheslav Ratinsky.
The photographer recalls that he stayed at the hotel “Druzhba” earlier.
“At the beginning of the summer, I stayed at the hotel for a whole month, and at the pizzeria Don Carleone I had breakfast and dinner every day. There was a very friendly staff. When I entered the hotel for the first time, I had a depressing and unpleasant feeling. I was convinced that sooner or later the hotel “Druzhba” would be hit,” says Ratinsky.
He lived on the fifth floor in a room that was located somewhere in the middle of the building. The hotel was always full to capacity: journalists, volunteers, as well as the military stayed there for respite and meetings with families. Fortunately, the hotel was empty at the time of the missile strike — people were evacuated the day before due to the threat of attack.
Vyacheslav Ratinsky and his colleagues arrived at the scene of the tragedy at midnight. It was very dark, rescue services and police were completing their work.
“I filmed the damaged houses and decided to find a top spot to shoot. He went up to the house opposite. On the top floor, I met a resident of one of the apartments, who desperately knocked on her door,” says Vyacheslav.
The woman's name was Lydia, her face was covered with bruises and cuts, and her clothes were covered in blood. During the missile attack, she was at home, she was cut by broken glass from smashed windows. Doctors took Lydia to a local hospital to provide assistance. When she returned, the door of the apartment was locked. She explained that her elderly father had apparently shut himself in the apartment and was sleeping.
Another woman, Valentina, looked out from the next apartment. The doors of her apartment were bent inward and they did not open. Vyacheslav helped her open the door and went inside.
“Everything around was turned upside down. The woman was disoriented and confused and fortunately had no serious injuries. In this mess, she could not find her phone and glasses. From her balcony there was a view of the street and the destroyed houses,” recalls the photographer.
Then Vyacheslav Ratinsky went to the local hospital, but most of the wounded were already taken to the hospital in Dnipro.
“There was a group of rescuers at the entrance, waiting nervously for news about their injured colleagues, who were being resuscitated in the hospital. After a while, the wounded were transferred to ambulances and taken to Dnipro. It was already a deep night, and we went to look for a place to stay,” says Ratynsky.
In the morning, the photographer and his colleagues again arrived at the scene of the tragedy. The State Emergency Service was already working there — they dismantled the rubble, the utilities carefully cleaned the street, and the residents of the surviving houses put their destroyed apartments in order.
Vyacheslav decided to climb into the house again and ask how things are with the women he met at night.
“I knocked on Lydia's apartment, she opened it and invited me inside. The apartment was all turned upside down, the windows knocked out. The woman said she felt fine. However, her face was still in baked blood,” says Vyacheslav Ratynskyi.
At some point, the photographer noticed that in the next room on the bed someone was sleeping, covered with a blanket.
“This picture struck me greatly: a destroyed hotel is visible outside the window, the apartment is badly damaged, and an elderly man sleeps peacefully on the bed. It was Lydia's father, 85-year-old Vladimir, who closed himself in the apartment at night and slept, - says Vyacheslav Ratynsky. - Lydia explained that her father slept in the same place and at the time of the impact. A broken window flew over his head, and he didn't even wake up.”
Vyacheslav Ratynskyi ---- Ukrainian documentary photographer and photojournalist. He has been working in the field of photojournalism for more than 10 years. Collaborates with international and Ukrainian news agencies and media, including Reuters, The Guardian, Le Monde, Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazine and others. He has been published in many Western and Ukrainian media, including: The Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Telegraph, The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel and others.
Participant in many photo exhibitions in Europe, USA, Japan and South Korea. His photographs have been published in several books. Vyacheslav Ratinsky works in Ukraine. In his work, the photographer explores the impact of war on society, social and political problems.
Social networks:Facebook, Instagram
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
The project is implemented thanks to support IWM Documenting Ukraine
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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