I MISS MY BORING OLD LIFE

For me, being a war photographer is no longer an adventure, but a regular job. It has been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine and there is now a sort of fatigue compared with the fervour we felt at the beginning of the war.

- SERHII KOROVAYNY

1 Sorush Zali, an Ukrainian artist, performs the Arno Babajanyan Elegy in a destroyed building in Irpin

I grew up in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Some of my fondest childhood memories include going to school and playing football. Later, I moved to Kyiv. Whenever I would return to my home town, my mom would bake a pie and we would have a meal as a family. I miss all that. I also miss Crimea, a beautiful place where I made some wonderful memories. It has beautiful mountain ranges and it is close to the sea. You could go on a hike, swim in the sea and eat fruit around a campfire. All that is gone.

Before the war, Ukraine was just like any other European country. It was developing rapidly. A lot of new businesses were coming up—restaurants, cafes, malls, local brands and much more. Foreigners had started discovering Ukraine. Nothing much is left now. It would be wonderful just to go back to our normal, boring lives, and not worry about air raid sirens, death and destruction.

2 A resident of Mykolaiv sharing news about an attack on phone

The war has lasted longer than expected and that is because our enemy is bigger than us—bigger, not stronger. So, the story continues. Last year was successful. It was a long year, but we had some victories. We were able to defend northern Ukraine and liberate Kharkiv and Kherson.