The project "Documentary Photographers on the Frontline: Supporting Ukrainian Photographers and Their Projects" is a UAPP micro-grant program to support Ukrainian documentary photographers who are risking their lives to tell the truth about the war in Ukraine.
Today we present a series of documentary works by 10 finalists, starting with Oleksandr Rupeta's project.
The locals called the reservoir the sea. The huge Soviet-era project was designed to be the largest reservoir in the world. With a length of 230 km and a width of up to 25 km in some places, it was one of those big Soviet projects that took no account of environmental damage or human lives. When the reservoir was filled, the water buried the territory of Velykyi Luh, the most important historical heritage of the formation of the Ukrainian Cossacks.
Over the past 65 years, however, much of southern Ukraine, including urban infrastructure and agriculture, has become dependent on the reservoir.
On 6 June 2023, after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the reservoir's water disappeared. The Kakhovka Sea ceased to exist.
The question of the future of the plant is complicated. Environmentalists and historians are in favor of preserving the historical territory of the Velykyi Lug. But now even staying on the banks of the former reservoir is a threat, as the left bank of the Dnipro along the reservoir is occupied by Russian troops and shelling continues daily, destroying coastal settlements and causing casualties among the population.
Oleksandr Rupeta is a documentary photographer from Ukraine who works around the world. He is mainly interested in social anthropology and social conflict, with a particular focus on the individual. Oleksandr is a member of the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of European Photographers, the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP).
The program is supported by the International Press Institute.
The project "Documentary Photographers on the Frontline: Supporting Ukrainian Photographers and Their Projects" is a UAPP micro-grant program to support Ukrainian documentary photographers who are risking their lives to tell the truth about the war in Ukraine.
Today we present a series of documentary works by 10 finalists, starting with Oleksandr Rupeta's project.
The locals called the reservoir the sea. The huge Soviet-era project was designed to be the largest reservoir in the world. With a length of 230 km and a width of up to 25 km in some places, it was one of those big Soviet projects that took no account of environmental damage or human lives. When the reservoir was filled, the water buried the territory of Velykyi Luh, the most important historical heritage of the formation of the Ukrainian Cossacks.
Over the past 65 years, however, much of southern Ukraine, including urban infrastructure and agriculture, has become dependent on the reservoir.
On 6 June 2023, after the Russians blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the reservoir's water disappeared. The Kakhovka Sea ceased to exist.
The question of the future of the plant is complicated. Environmentalists and historians are in favor of preserving the historical territory of the Velykyi Lug. But now even staying on the banks of the former reservoir is a threat, as the left bank of the Dnipro along the reservoir is occupied by Russian troops and shelling continues daily, destroying coastal settlements and causing casualties among the population.
Oleksandr Rupeta is a documentary photographer from Ukraine who works around the world. He is mainly interested in social anthropology and social conflict, with a particular focus on the individual. Oleksandr is a member of the International Federation of Journalists, the Federation of European Photographers, the Independent Media Trade Union of Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP).
The program is supported by the International Press Institute.
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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