Ukrainian photographer Vitalii Herasymenko studied at a film school in Barcelona and shot street photography in Beijing. Combining a cinematic approach with conceptual photography, he creates deep visual narratives. Vitalii served in an assault battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He captured not only combat operations but also documented how war alters a person’s perception, feelings, and internal state. With his project "Thermal Signatures," the photographer became a laureate of the prestigious ShowOFF section at the international festival Krakow Photomonth 2026. Vitalii Herasymenko shared why collective filmmaking gave way to artistic freedom in photography, how he created a photo zine based on a fictional myth, and which music track best fits his photo project "Thermal Signatures."

Over the past week, Russian forces launched brutal strikes on Kramatorsk, Pryluky, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Oleksandriia, and Kharkiv. Residential buildings were destroyed, leaving dozens of civilians dead under the rubble. In Zaporizhzhia and Pryluky alone, nine children lost their lives. Public transport was suspended in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk due to the security situation. Russian troops also shelled Mykolaiv and Odesa. A jet-powered UAV was shot down over Lviv, while drone debris killed a person in Ivano-Frankivsk. In several districts of Kyiv, "Points of Invincibility" began opening following strikes on energy infrastructure. Among other targets struck this week were hospitals, a bridge, and foreign vessels in the Black Sea.

‍For documentary photographers, the war in Ukraine has practically erased the line between professional duty and personal life. Frequent trips to strike sites, documenting human tragedy, and witnessing destruction demand immense mental resilience. Five years into the full-scale war, this burden continues to grow amidst escalating Russian terror against Ukraine's peaceful cities.

The international photography competition Leica Camera Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) 2026 has announced its winners. The main prize of this prestigious award was granted to Russian photographer Damir Fayzulin for his project "Preserving Nature, We Preserve Ourselves," dedicated to the mountains of Dagestan and the North Caucasus. This decision once again demonstrated that key international institutions continue to ignore the context of the full-scale war launched by Russia against Ukraine. Just on the eve of the award ceremony, another Russian FPV drone strike claimed the lives of 33 bus passengers in Kramatorsk, and a day earlier, the Russian army killed five children in Pryluky. Against the backdrop of daily war crimes documented by Ukrainian photojournalists, the jury awards its top prize to a project that romanticizes a region of the aggressor state.

Cities under occupation are high-risk zones for human rights violations committed by Russia. The lack of access to occupied territories for international missions and independent media enables Russia to commit atrocities without witnesses and feed the global community deceitful propaganda. The absence of prompt photo and video documentation directly from the scene significantly complicates the legal process of proving Russian war crimes in the TOT before international courts.