A year after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, a project against “Russian propaganda” was launched, giving people around the world the opportunity to “immerse themselves in the realities of war.”
The War Up Close project is using a 360-degree view of destroyed cities and towns across Ukraine to refute Russia’s claims that the country is only targeting military bases.
Viewers can view various regions of Ukraine that have been bombed by Russians, similar to using Google Street View, to see how civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, universities and museums, was destroyed during the year-long “special forces”. operations were also attacked.” .
Nikolay Omelchenko, 47, co-founder and photographer, tells I He started a project with two friends, Yuriy Zozulya and Dmitry Matyash, to raise awareness of the toll the conflict has taken on innocent people as the world grows tired of war news.
“We decided we could fight behind the cameras and tell the world the truth,” he said.
The photographer recalled how the Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin saw the work and said: “The world needs to see this.
“Before, we didn’t understand the damage the Russians were doing…we could never comprehend the extent of the destruction.”
The project has already been exhibited in Washington DC, Berlin and Warsaw and will be presented in Oslo, Rome and Paris.
War Up Close also supports The Undeniable Street View, a project supported by United24, an initiative by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and other self-help groups that provide significant support to Ukrainians.
Mr. Omelchenko said the reaction was huge. “People were crying, people were crying, some couldn’t finish the video because they recognized their home, city and friends… it was tragic.”
A Ukrainian girl in Berlin visited an exhibition and recognized her apartment. “He’s gone,” she said.
Are you going to bomb us?
Mr. Omelchenko recalled some of the civilians he met in areas under attack from Russia.
Frightened by the violence, a five-year-old girl living on a farm in Chernihiv sees the approaching team and asks, “Are you going to bomb us?”
Mr Omelchenko, a father of two, said: “It was difficult to speak; we almost cried. We gave her candy and told her we were not here to bomb.”
Residents of two villages near Chernigov told Omelchenko how some Russians, believing they were on the outskirts of Kiev because of paved roads and electricity, shot at those who tried to tell them they were in the wrong place, in the wrong place.
“They killed them simply because they were telling the truth, that they were not in Kyiv as they thought,” the photographer said.
An elderly man in Izyum, who was under Russian occupation for six months before being released in September, asked what the team was doing in the area.
“We declared that we would show the world a catastrophe. He came back and brought us plums. This man had nothing, but he still shared everything he had so that we would have enough food to keep walking and shooting further.
Another woman from Galina, Izyum, described how she went to fetch water, but when she returned, she found her “house destroyed with her whole family.”
There was only one building in the village that was attacked. Mr. Omelchenko asked residents why this was so, and they replied that the Russians were targeting a Ukrainian teacher’s home.
“They allowed her to take the children, but as soon as she left the house, they completely bombed it with tanks and destroyed it,” he said.
Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, arguing that a “special military operation” was needed to “denazify” and “demilitarize” its smaller neighbour. And this despite the fact that the leader of Ukraine, President Zelensky, is a Jew.
Ukraine and the West say the invasion was not provoked, and Western allies have provided the country with billions in military and financial aid.
Since the beginning of the war, Moscow has been accused of more than 71,000 war crimes. She denies ever attacking civilians or committing any atrocities.
“My hair is turning gray”
Mr. Omelchenko said the aim of the project is to expand it to all target areas in Ukraine, but they must wait until active hostilities cease so as not to endanger their team.
He recalled taking photographs of the damaged building. Back at the hotel, the police called him and said that the building had been hit again.
“If we were there a few hours later, we probably wouldn’t be talking to you,” he said. I.
The work took its toll on Mr. Omelchenko. “I have more gray hair, I don’t sleep well, like the whole team. It is very difficult.”
He described how his wife was recently startled by thunder in Warsaw and said they were both traumatized by “hours” spent in a Kiev bomb shelter. “Every time we heard a loud noise, we turned and looked at each other… [and wonder] this is a bomb?”
Mr. Omelchenko hopes the project will raise awareness of what is happening in his home country. “Remind the world that the war is still going on, Ukrainians are still fighting and the nation is still suffering.”
Source: I News
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.