Bilozerka supported the publication of unblurred photos of those killed in the attack on Kyiv
Olena Bilozerska, a military officer and journalist, expressed her support for photographer Yefrem Lukatsky, who published an unblurred photo of a family killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv. In her opinion, such photos are important for documenting war crimes and should show the world the real consequences of war.
“I believe Lukatsky is absolutely right. This is the truth, this is history, this is the brutal reality that he captures and shows people. And it’s good that he has the courage to stand his ground time and again, despite the criticism,” Bilozerska wrote.
She also stated that due to censorship, the world does not see the true scale of Russian crimes.
“The world, let’s be honest, hasn’t seen anything. It has seen blurred photos where, without a caption, it’s impossible to tell that it was a person and not, for example, a dog or a trash bag,” the serviceman noted.
According to her, even most Ukrainians do not fully grasp what war looks like.
“We Ukrainians—those of us who haven’t been on the front lines or worked in a morgue—haven’t seen anything either, except for these blurred photos,” she emphasized.
Bilozerka also commented on arguments regarding the potential distress caused to the relatives of the deceased by the publication of such images.
“As for the suffering of the deceased’s loved ones who will see the photos—what can you do? Practically all of the deceased have loved ones. And they suffer, first and foremost, not because of the photos, but because of their loss. There’s nothing that can be done about it; you can’t bring a dead person back to life. But their loved ones can and should be given effective help, rather than censoring information under the guise of protecting their interests,” she wrote.
The photographer himself, Yefrem Lukatsky, explained that the decision to publish the photo was not an easy one for him.
“It was hard for me to decide to show this photograph. A Russian missile killed an entire family. Will this photograph stop the war? Most likely not. But I believe the world needs to see the truth,” he said.
The photojournalist added that he sympathizes with the victims’ family but is convinced that documenting war crimes is important.
“We must respect the loved ones of the victims, but at the same time remember our duty to history. Sympathy for the family should not lead to concealing the truth, yet the truth must be shown with the utmost respect for the dignity of the deceased. This is precisely the kind of ethical dilemma where there is no solution without pain—there is only the desire to make the most responsible decision,” Lukatsky wrote.
We previously reported that search operations in Kyiv’s Darnytskyi district have been completed: 10 victims were recovered from the rubble.
