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A year ago Pokrovsk of Donetsk region was in a relatively safe rear, where migrants from frontline settlements arrived. The city was provided with communications, shops and banks worked here, and residents felt relatively safe. However, over the past six months, the situation has changed dramatically: Pokrovsk has turned into a frontline city, from where people began to leave en masse. In the context of the capture of nearby settlements, such as Avdiyivka and Ocheretyne, there are fears that Pokrovsk could become the next target of the Russian army. Enemy troops are within about 10 km of the city.
Now Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region is one of those places where the war leaves the most painful traces. Daily shelling, the evacuation of thousands of people and the uncertainty of the future are forcing residents to leave their homes. Yet in every story, despite the fear and pain, there is hope for a return.
Intensity of fighting and calls for evacuation
The situation in the Pokrovsky direction remains extremely tense. Russian troops carry out numerous assaults every day, trying to break through the defenses. In the city itself, the situation is no less difficult — constant shelling and threat to life force people to leave their homes. Local authorities are calling for evacuation, especially families with children. However, despite the danger, about 26 thousand residents remain in the city, among them more than a thousand children. Since September 5, evacuation trains from the city have been canceled for safety reasons. You can travel to the safer territory of Ukraine with the help of volunteers or by own transport.
Today, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers publishes photos of Konstantin and Vlada Liberov and Alexander Magula from the station in Pokrovsk, as well as images by Maryan Kushnir of the Ukrainian military holding back the Russian attack on the city.
Evacuation: sad moments and farewells
In recent months, evacuation from Pokrovsk has become part of everyday life. The station is crowded with people who collect the most valuable and prepare for the unknown. At the beginning of September spousesDocumentary photographers Konstantin and Vlada Liberov recorded the situation on the platform, in the train car: “Everyone has an unknown ahead. Even those who are waiting for relatives in other cities. It is impossible to prepare a person for this. It is impossible to explain to a small child why they leave with mom and dad stays. It is impossible to reassure an 80-year-old grandmother who was born, grew up, fell in love, worked, built a family and all her life in the same city, that she will not have the opportunity to live her old age peacefully in this city. It's too painful.”
The photographers also point out that what is most striking is that some have already had to leave their homes in 2014 or 2022: “It is painful for everyone, but there is a certain category of people whose stories are particularly heart-wrenching. They tend to be different from others at the station. They behave a little more confidently, they have less things with them than others. These are people who have already gone through this. Someone in 2014 in Donetsk. Someone — in 2022 in Bakhmut. They have already collected their whole lives in several packages. They have already fled from the Russians and their “idolatry”, but they have caught up with these people here as well. Someone on this train, who is not from Pokrovsk itself, but from the region, has already lost his home from the hit of a Russian shell. Someone has already lost loved ones. The train takes care of everyone. They distribute food, hygiene kits, work doctors and quickly provide assistance to elderly people who are disturbed by their heart due to stress.”
Alexander Magula: emotions at the station
“Women hug and cry near the evacuation train. Local residents fill the cars little by little, conductors in body armor help to place suitcases and animals. Elderly people are given medical care due to stress and heart attacks. There is an unknown in front of everyone,” - this picture was seen at the railway station by the photojournalist Oleksandr Magula of the Public on August 24, on the Independence Day of Ukraine. Each departure is a moment of farewell to a city that has witnessed the indescribable pain of its inhabitants.
Maryan Kushnir: description of front-line events
Military correspondent of Radio Svoboda Maryan Kushnir tellson the situation on the front, which directly threatens Pokrovska: “The occupation troops are advancing in small groups, looking for weak points. They bypass the positions of Ukrainian paratroopers, conduct assaults, looking for the possibility of a breakthrough. The enemy operates under cover of artillery and aviation, and our fighters use drones to respond quickly.”
Kushnir notes the complexity of the situation, when even the front lines of defense become a shelter for the occupying forces, but Ukrainian forces are doing everything possible to contain the onslaught. “Everything works in the Pokrovsky direction: aviation, artillery, jets. So not easy. Support the fighters!” — writes the journalist.
Konstantin and Vlada Liberov ---- spousesphotographers from Odessa. They began their journey by focusing on creative and emotional engagement. In a few years, they have become one of the most recognizable photographers in the field and have moved on to active teaching activities, have thousands of grateful students around the world. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, they changed the vector of their work, focusing on feature documentaries: their photos from hot spots in Ukraine go viral on social networks, gaining hundreds of thousands of reposts, they are published by influential media such as BBC, Welt, Vogue, Forbes, and also take to their social networks the President of Ukraine and others high-ranking persons. In Europe, two solo exhibitions of the Liberovs have already taken place, in addition, their photos have become part of many thematic exhibitions.
Oleksandr Magula ---- photographerfrom Kharkov. Journalist Social News in Kyiv. He studied journalism at Kharkiv National University named after V. N.D. Karazin. Before the war, he worked in the local media. Collaborated with the largest German-language print publications in Europe (NZZ, FAZ, TAZ, Focus, DerStandard).
Mariana Kushnirworks at Radio Svoboda since 2015, now heactively covers events related to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In March 2022, Maryan Kushnir, while performing an editorial task, was injured as a result of a strike by Russian troops in the Kiev region - he was diagnosed with a contusion. In May 2023, Marjan Kushnir received a special award from the Bucha Journalism Conference.
Material created with support The Free Word Foundation.
The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vera Labych
Bildeditor: Vyacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar
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