I took these photos in 2017 in Avdiivka, which just days ago was occupied by Russia after a months long escalated battle. And after almost 10 years of war in Ukraine. The graffiti says Slava Ukraini in Russian (the main language spoken in the region). Glory to Ukraine.

Avdiika was the closest we came to what was then the front line in eastern Ukraine, which was just 5km away. We heard artillery and the “booms.” The locals we interviewed always described the booms in this onomatopoeic way — “Boom” — which has always resonated with me.

Avdiivka is yet another place we visited which is now under occupation. We also visited Bakhmut, which fell last year. It’s horrifying to think how a place you have visited is just erased from the face of the earth — razed to the ground by murderous invaders. I think about the people we spoke with who lived in these places that had already touched war. Nikolai and Valentina were two of these people. We met Nikolai as he was planting garlic beside his shed riddled with bulletholes. Valentina returned from the store where she had purchased heart medication for her husband, who had had a heart attack during shelling in 2014. She also brought bones back for the stray dogs — dogs that had been abandoned by people who had already fled their homes. One of the dogs was quite friendly. The other was fearful and would only go to Valentina. They pointed out a field beyond the apartment complex which used to be filled with sunflowers but was now filled with landmines, and told a story about their neighbour who crossed the field to feed the stray dogs, but never came back. His wife found a fragment of one of his bones. They also shared with us that they felt the international community had forgotten about them. As we parted ways, Valentina emotionally hugged me and asked us to never fight with our people and not to forget them.

Now the city has been razed after a massive siege that has been ongoing for months. I wonder what has happened to all those we met in Avdiivka. I wonder how many more Avdiivkas we will allow. We can’t afford to “forget.”

As a sign says as you enter the city, “Авдіївка - Це Україна.”

Avdiivka is Ukraine 🇺🇦