Two months of full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine are behind us. The resistance shown by Kharkiv's defenders in the first days of the war showed the Russians that no one would surrender the city without a fight. Like Kyiv, the Russians planned to capture Kharkiv in three days. At least, this is what Russian prisoners have testified. Therefore, the enemy hoped to capture Kharkiv through information warfare and terror. Turning Kharkiv residents against the Armed Forces of Ukraine, forcing them to leave, and discrediting the city's defense and the struggle of the Ukrainian people as a whole were the goals that enemy propaganda sought to achieve in Kharkiv.

We continue to introduce you to the finalists of our annual Grant Program to Support Documentary Photographers — an initiative implemented by UAPP with the support of the International Press Institute. Today — the project “Where the road will lead” by Max Chorny. It is a journey through Ukraine without routes and reservations — only the road, road trips, casual acquaintances, conversations that you do not plan, and portraits of people that remain in the memory forever. This is not an event report. It is a personal observation of how the country feels in the middle, in dialogue, in silence, in fatigue, in believing words and unbelieving views. Max's stories are not a claim to objectivity, but an attempt to catch the living warmth between the lines of the news, where the real begins.

Konstantin Guzenko is a photographer, media producer, member of the Ukrainner team and candidate for admission to UAPP. Today he serves in the 35th Separate Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mikhail Ostrogradsky and serves as a pressofitzer. His pictures are of war without decoration: the view from the trench, from the rear of combat vehicles and from the dungeons where those who fight live.

Massive drone attacks, ballistic missiles, dozens of wounded and dead civilians — from April 28 to May 2, Russia attacked at least nine Ukrainian cities. Residential areas, hospitals, and schools were once again targeted. Explosions were heard in Kharkiv, Odesa, Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Cherkasy, Kherson, and frontline communities. Children were injured, dozens of people were wounded, and critical infrastructure was destroyed.

This April, despite the Easter holidays, the Russian army shelled Ukrainian cities, killing people, while Ukrainian photographers documented this horrific reality on a daily basis. The Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers and Ukraїner present a joint monthly selection:

Єлизавета Букреєва розповіла про пошук хороших моментів під час складних зйомок, про право на красиві кадри під час документування війни та чому іноді присутність фотографа важливіша за фотографії, які він зробить.