Two years of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 195 photographs. The Ukrainians have prepared the English-language photo book “How We Walk Through the Fire” featuring key images of the war. The edition includes all photos from the English-language special issue of Reporters magazine, as well as new images of major events in the Russo-Ukrainian war. All photographs were taken between February 2022 and February 2024. This is the first book from The Ukrainians Publishing.
“Our magazine was created in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So part of the print run was sent to diplomatic missions, and the magazine began appearing among various foreign politicians. It ended up in Ukrzaliznytsia’s diplomatic carriage. The publication received strong feedback; there is demand for it. That’s why we came up with the idea of releasing a photo book for the second anniversary of the war, but with an expanded selection of images. That was the request,” — explains Danylo Pavlov, photo editor of the “How We Walk Through the Fire” photo book.
The photobook presents photos of more than 40 Ukrainian documentarians. Someone provided specific phThe photo book features images by more than 40 Ukrainian documentary photographers. Some provided specific photos, while others gave access to their personal archives, where Danylo had to search for the most fitting shots to fill the book.otos, and someone - access to his own archive, where Daniel had to find exactly the right frames to fill the book.
The cover features a photo shot through a night-vision device by Oleksandr Popenko. Danylo says he tried to choose not just a striking image for the cover, but one that would “keep the intrigue, with everything else revealed inside.”
“I wanted it to be as veiled as possible. But at the same time, from a visual point of view, to look both beautiful and powerful,” — the photo editor explains.
Danylo says he tried to fill the book with a variety of photographs so it wouldn’t feel overly tragic or focused solely “on strikes and ruins.” The photo editor sought a balance that would cover important events and have a compelling visual flow—one that would make the viewer stop and take a closer look.
So the edition covers all key aspects of the Russian invasion: images of both soldiers and civilians; training and funerals; the Verkhovna Rada; a Ukrzaliznytsia train; shelling, blackouts, and more.
“The photo book is built around a concept that helps you understand and grasp the chronology of certain events. I worked on that chronology and thought about how to do it so that it would be sufficiently spread across these two years. For example, when we open the book, the first thing we see is a photograph on the spread: Russia’s offensive in the Kharkiv region, and right by the sign on Kharkiv’s ring road lies a dead Russian soldier. The second frame is already a destroyed air defense system in Mariupol. So the beginning of the book is the events of the first day of the invasion—February 24,” Danylo Pavlov says. — “That same day, we see a huge traffic jam of cars on Beresteiskyi Avenue in Kyiv. Then come frames of people preparing for defense. Anti-tank hedgehogs in Zhytomyr region. These are all events of the first days. In particular, the well-known photograph by Maks Dondiuk of the evacuation from Irpin, which made the cover of the American magazine Time, is also included in the photo book. Then come images of Ukrainians training to throw Molotov cocktails, the first fatalities, military portraits, frames from the Ukrainian-Polish border. Yevhen Maloletka’s image of the Mariupol maternity hospital shelled by Russia, which became a World Press Photo winner. Photographs from soldiers’ funerals in Lviv. And the photo book ends with a frame by Yuliia Kochetova. It’s a very beautiful portrait of a servicemember from training.”
“How We Walk Through the Fire” was published in hardcover. You can buy it in Kyiv at the “Sensi” and “Zbirka” bookstores, or order it on the website. Worldwide shipping is available.
Worked on the piece:
Topic researcher, text author: Vira Labych
Photo editor: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
