Stories from Ukraine.

In this special edition of SoulKind, we share stories from the Ukrainian people, highlighting the effects the Russian invasion has had on their lives and how they are trying to cope with such an atrocity.

It was with deep sadness that we lost our friend Adam this year. His extraordinary photography was the catalyst for this powerful edition of SoulKind, and his presence, talent and integrity shaped every part of it. Adam devoted his work to documenting the innocent lives affected by conflict, giving voice and visibility to those too often overlooked. He will be missed by so many, but his legacy — in his images, his courage and his compassion — will continue to resonate long into the future.

Adam Dobby

Foreword.

by Adam Dobby

My relationship with Ukraine started in 2014 when I was assigned into Crimea to support my dear friend and colleague Lindsey Hilsum of Channel 4 News. From there, I’ve travelled to most of the corners of this vast country, thinking that Putin always had his eye on its extensive fertile lands. Lands which are naturally suited to grain production and contain the world’s largest reserves of commercial-grade iron ore, great for making the armour for tanks. It is no surprise then, that Ukraine is dubbed the ‘breadbasket of Europe’.

Who would have thought that since the first days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022, this resource has produced over 35,000 anti-tank hedgehogs to help keep Putin’s tanks at bay.

As I pen this foreword late in April on my way back into war-stricken Ukraine, more than 11 million people are believed to have fled their homes since the conflict began, according to the United Nations. Of those, five million have left for neighbouring countries, the other six million are thought to be displaced inside the war-torn country itself.

I have served in various conflict-orientated capacities, including a year of service with Britain’s elite 22nd Special Air Service (SAS) and as a field producer for most of the large international news networks around the world. Imbued with a legitimacy seldom found in the sensationalised spheres of photojournalism, I found myself accruing a portfolio of sobering war portraits as the years went by.

I feel very privileged, or maybe just lucky, to have passed selection for the SAS. My first service was in the Balkans where multiple organisations were fighting over their beliefs, religious or otherwise, and seeing it from a soldier’s perspective provided me with amazing insight to help define the lines between right and wrong.

This, and many other wars I have been in as a soldier and journalist, has shaped and propelled me to view conflict from the other side of the coin. I am always looking to photograph children and the civilians caught up in conflicts that their innocence had no dealings with, but only had to survive.

Two such untold civilians of Ukraine are Ira and Olya. When I met Ira in Lviv, days after Russia’s invasion, I knew that she had stories to tell – stories which are now captured in this beautiful publication.

These are stories from the people of Ukraine and one is Ira. She did not shout about her past, about the hardships and losses she has suffered because of war. She only speaks of her want for peace and freedom. They believe that people can change, history need not repeat itself, that in the stories from the people, a pen can be stronger than the sword.

We should all read this, not to dwell on right or wrong, but to allow time to ponder how fortunate we are to look up at the skies and not be worried about missiles. The people of Ukraine are as strong as the iron ore that is found below their feet.