Photographers show daily life of Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut
Liberovys show the life of Ukrainian soldiers in the Bakhmut direction (Photo:libkos/Instagram)
Ukrainian photographers Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberovy, who document the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have taken a series of pictures depicting how infantry men and women live near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, posting them on Instagram on Feb. 12.
They managed to capture photos in the trenches mere 800 meters away from enemy positions. The Liberovys show the life of Ukrainian defenders, men and women, in extremely difficult living conditions with freezing temperatures and under constant artillery fire.
“The life of infantry in the area of Bakhmut,” one of the captions reads.
“Trenches only 800 meters away from the enemy's positions, over extremely difficult living conditions, exhausting freezing temperatures, constant artillery fire and sniper fire. However, they find the strength to smile. We realize that it is obvious, but just in case – we want to remind you that these are not staged shots. No ‘photogenic’ trenches in the style of World War II. It's the reality of these people, into which we were allowed for a short period of silence, while mortars are constantly firing at the positions. But we were lucky not to draw the enemy's attention and didn't come under fire in our brief visit to their positions.”
They also shared the stories of people they met during their short visit to the Ukrainian positions.
“And yes, men and women. A woman from the seventh photo is a sniper, Maryna callsign ‘Monashka’ (Ukrainian for ‘nun’). She joined the Armed Forces as a volunteer because she had some riffle skills and wanted to be helpful. She lives in the same condition as others, with no indulgences. It's difficult for her, very difficult. It's hard for her to carry a 17-kilogram rifle, not being able to maintain basic hygiene, constantly trying to jump over her head in order not to disappoint and not to let down her fellow soldiers. But she finds the strength to keep going,” the Liberovys describe a photo of a female Ukrainian soldier.
“Just like ‘Hrim’ (Ukrainian for ‘thunder’) – a young smiling guy who is only 18 years old (photo 5). He also volunteered to join the Armed Forces and promised us to keep himself safe, no matter what. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to meet everyone, because in about 20 minutes we were urgently called to the armored Humvee that brought us, because there was a threat of intense shelling, and civilians in a trench are the last thing the soldiers want to see at such a moment,” the photographers concluded their report.
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