Under the Nets

North and east of Kharkiv, damaged infrastructure, defensive structures and traces of human presence shape areas marked by the ongoing reality of war near Ukraine’s northeastern front line.

Over the course of nearly two months in early 2026, I repeatedly traveled through areas around Kharkiv, documenting environments altered by the proximity of the front. The project combines analog and digital photography and emerged alongside my journalistic work in the region, including time spent with soldiers and military units such as the Khartia Brigade.

While moving through these spaces, I became increasingly interested not only in the direct presence of war, but in the quieter transformation unfolding around it. Anti-drone nets stretching above roads, damaged industrial zones, abandoned medical facilities and temporary military positions gradually formed fragmented landscapes where civilian and military realities increasingly overlap.

Rather than focusing on combat itself, the series observes the atmosphere surrounding prolonged conflict — the tension, routines and visual contradictions that become embedded in everyday life near the front line. Many of the photographs concentrate on what remains after moments of violence have passed: altered architecture, improvised defenses, traces of absence and brief encounters with the people continuing to move through these environments.

The work reflects on how war slowly reshapes not only physical space, but also perception itself.