A teenage photographer’s images of a ceremony in western Ukraine lay bare the generational consequences that the Russian invasion is having on families across Ukraine.
The following photos were made during a ceremony in Rivne on August 28. The western Ukrainian city was celebrating its founding anniversary, but photos taken by local photographer Anastasia Ihorivna, 19, capture one part of the event that overshadowed festivities.
The images capture wives, children, and relatives of Ukrainian soldiers killed in battle receiving medals in their absence.
Ihorivna says she was unaware of the nature of the event when she was invited to photograph it, and many details of the people in the images were not immediately available. The photographer knows only that their loved ones were killed in battle after Russia's February 24 invasion.
Due to safety concerns, the ceremony was held inside a large hall in central Rivne. Large-scale outdoor events have been curtailed across Ukraine due to fears of potential missile strikes.
The families of the fallen received medals declaring them "honored citizens" of Rivne.
Ihorivna told RFE/RL that the atmosphere inside the hall was heavy with emotion "because every loss, every death of a soldier for Ukrainians is like our own. No one held back tears, neither children nor adults."
Some of the photos in this gallery were shared by Ihorivna in a post on Instagram that received a massive outpouring of sympathy and hundreds of thousands of reactions. The teenage photographer says the photos struck a chord with the Ukrainian public because they "reflect my own state of mind: War loss of life, loss of relatives."
In her August 29 Instagram post, Ihorivna wrote that she posted the images "in memory of those who embrace us with wings from heaven," adding "Glory to the heroes."
All photos by Anastasia Ihorivna, text by Amos Chapple
