"The stories and testimonies in this book are not only photographs. They are beautiful, brutal, present, and personal – photographic adjectives, filled with content that is deeper and more relevant than most news photography can ever hope to be. But, perhaps most importantly, they are historical documents, visual evidence to be presented in a future where the fog of war has cleared.
And just ice once again prevails." Swedish Photojournalist Paul Hansen wrote in the foreword for the book. In it, he emphasises the relevance of the images, the depth these testimonies bring to the reader, and how they initiate a deeper conversation about the impact of military violence on Ukraine.Ukrainian Warchive published its first book 13 Stories of War to mark the second year full-scale Russian invasion.The book features individual visual essays accompanied by text created by 13 Ukrainian photographers and artists, members of the Ukrainian warchive. Their photographic testimonies are beyond conventional narratives and together with text they give readers a nuanced and personal perspective that goes beyond typical media coverage. The essays delve into themes of resistance, loss and hope and provide a vivid account of the human experience in the midst of war."Despite the backdrop of ongoing military violence, these documentary photographers and artists have been courageously living, working, and sharing the realities of Ukraine with the world since the Russian Invasion. As the photo editor, curating these powerful photo stories represents the photographers’ resilience and resistance to me. Each essay varies in approach, style, and subject matter. We chose to pair each essay with personal texts to convey awareness and immediacy." - says Emine Ziyatdinova, co-editor of the book and director of the Ukrainian Warchive.The book has been supported by the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna (Institut für die wissenschatten vom Menschen, I M) within the Documenting Ukraine program, the Hasselblad Foundation, and the Swedish Institute.
