Ukraine: Haunting scenes from a country under attack

November 2022

As winter sets in and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, this series of images highlights the haunting and enduring beauty of a country under fire, while large areas remain without electricity and power.

A thick fog descends over St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv.

A small coffee shop opposite St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv.

Snow turns to ice along the paths in a park in Kyiv.

Birds fly over St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv on a cold, foggy day, heralding the onset of winter.

A dense fog surrounds the striking St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv.

An elderly woman cleans wax from candle holders inside St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv.

The Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

Icy streets in Kyiv

Fog surrounded St. Michael’s Golden-domed Monastery in Kyiv.

Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Mykytenko works on a sculpture at his studio in Kyiv.

Artwork by Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Mykytenko called Palyanytsya, which is a type of Ukrainian hearth-baked bread made mostly of wheat flour in a home oven.

Artwork by Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Mykytenko of a child inside the shell of a 122mm rocket shell illuminated by red light. The piece, entitled ‘EVIL’, is a reflection of Oleksandr’s pain regarding the children killed during the war with Russia. On his instagram account Oleksadr writes that the child symbolizes a lost life, the life of hundreds of children who will never live it again.

“When I saw this fragment of a shell, I immediately saw the finished work, no sketches or time to think were needed, I just started doing it right away,” writes Oleksandr. “Emotionally, it was difficult to work on her because all these bad thoughts circled in a circle day after day, as if it was hell from the inside. Therefore, I am glad that I completed it in a fairly short period of time.”