In Ukraine, war and its aftermath coexist. While soldiers are dying daily on the frontlines, the rest of the country grapples with the new reality, coping with countless losses and treading the challenging path towards healing. My work captures the impact this conflict has on the mental health of Ukrainians nationwide and how it shapes the construction of the future Ukrainian society. Drawing inspiration from Svetlana Alexievich’s The Unwomanly Face of War, which has been a guiding reference in this journey, my project aims not to document the history of war but to explore the human experience of living through it.

Travelling around Ukraine, I discovered the other, invisible battlefield played out far behind the hell of the frontlines. Three years of total war are ravaging people's minds. There are the countless mourners who grieve a loved one killed in action or missile strikes, the uncertainty of exile for the tens of thousands of displaced people across the country who have fled the occupied territories or the areas adjacent to the front line. There is also sleeplessness and the anguish of night strikes that can happen at any time, anywhere - even in the capital, Kiev, where Russian drone attacks are almost a daily occurrence. There are soldiers who come back mutilated and traumatised. And then, there is the violence of the human's soul, torture, and rape survived by those who lived under occupation or return after Russian captivity. These psychological wounds are less visible than the ones caused by shrapnel, yet often more difficult to recognise and heal. They linger long after the enemy leaves and the houses are rebuilt.