Since the beginning of 2014, the Ukraine has been dominated by military conflicts. The east of the country has been most gravely affected. There, pro-Russian separatists have been fighting for the independency of the region as well as the area being more connected to Russia. This intention is supported by the Russian government. The Ukrainian government has declared the separatists to be terrorists and initiated military counter attacks against them. So far, all treaties regarding a truce have been broken. According to the UN report, 9,400 people (June 2016) have died during the conflict, about 2,000 of them civilians. As a result, there are an estimated two million Ukrainian people on the run, some of them in the country itself while others have fled to neighbouring countries like Russia or Belarus. This is the biggest refugee movement in the Baltic States since the Baltic War.
Participating author: Artem Chapeye
Artem Chapeye was born in the Ukraine in 1981. He started to study at the National Academy of State Security and graduated from the Kiew Mohyla Academy. During his studies he worked as a publisher of a children’s magazine, as a translator for the TV channel “Inter” and as a reporter for the Ukrainian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. His literary debut was published in 2008 and is called “Awantjura” (Engl.: “An Adventure”), which was followed by several other literary works. During the military conflict in Donbass, Chapeye also worked as a military correspondent for “Insider”. Together with the Russian-Ukrainian journalist Kateryna Sergatskowa he published a collection of reportages called “Wojna na tri bukwy” (2015, Engl.: War in Three Letters), which looks at the war from both sides and also follows the actions of the anti-terror operation ATO. It was nominated for the International “Kurt Schork” Journalism Award. Chapeye currently lives in Kiev.
A more detailled biography can be found here.
Ukraine – Photographs by Yevgenia Belorusets
Caravan resettlement in Kharkiv, where more than 80 families from eastern Ukraine have found temporary accommodations. However, for many this resettlement is their only option at having a home outside the war zone.
Photographed in October 2016.
Sasha and his daughter Vika come from Debaltseve and have lived in the caravan resettlement since 2014.
Photographed in October 2016.
Katja is 13 years old and is originally from Luhansk Oblast. She has lived at the Kharkiv residential caravan settlement since July 2016 and is looking forward to the new school. She stated that she liked the caravan resettlement because here there is no war.
Photographed in October 2016.