A video was shown in Kyiv depicting how rescue workers operate during wartime
An exhibition of documentary photography titled “Saving the Capital” has opened at the Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kyiv. The photographs depict the work of rescue workers during a full-scale war, the aftermath of Russian attacks, and the rescue of people in the capital.
An exhibition project of documentary photography titled “Saving the Capital” has opened in Kyiv. The exhibition chronicles the work of rescue workers in the capital following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The project is on display at the Taras Shevchenko National Museum. Visitors are shown photographs taken during the most harrowing events of recent years.
The photos depict rescue workers at work after Russian strikes, damaged buildings, the aftermath of shelling, and moments when emergency responders are helping people. The authors sought to show more than just the destruction itself. The main focus is on the people who work every day in places where a tragedy has just occurred. The exhibition essentially tells the story of the capital through the work of those who arrive at the scene immediately after an attack.
Unvarnished photographs
Ivan Rushchak, deputy head of the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Kyiv, thanked the project’s creators. He noted that documentary photographs help preserve in memory the events Kyiv is experiencing during the war. According to him, every image in the exhibition shows Ukrainian reality without embellishment.
“Today we are here to use documentary photography to help viewers—and each other in general—make sense of the events we have experienced, work through our shared pain, and feel a sense of unity with the community of a city that, since the start of the full-scale invasion, has become a battleground for survival,” said Rushtsak. That is precisely why the creators did not attempt to make the exhibition solely about the heroism of rescue workers. The photographs also capture difficult moments—destroyed houses, ravaged apartments, fires, and the aftermath of Russian attacks. At the same time, people and their work remain at the center of these images.
Who took the photos
Well-known Ukrainian documentary photographers joined the project. The photographers are Yevhen Maloletka, Kostyantyn and Vlada Liberovy, Oleg Petrasyuk, Vyacheslav Ratynsky, Pavlo Petrov, Danylo Pavlov, Serhiy Korovainy, Anton Shtuka, Roman Pylypiy, Serhiy Nuzhnenko, Vladyslav Musienko, Anatoliy Stepanov, Yulia Kochetova, and Mykyta Shandyba.
Their photographs capture various moments of life in the capital during a full-scale war. Through the photographers’ lenses, we can see what usually remains outside the scope of brief news reports: how rescue workers clear debris, respond to fires, search for people, and assist those whose homes have been damaged by Russian strikes. Such images also serve as wartime records. They help preserve specific events and show how Kyiv has changed since the start of the full-scale war.
The exhibition will run through September
The organizers note that the project aims to help visitors reflect on their experiences and see the work of rescue workers not only through official reports but also through documentary footage. For Kyiv itself, this topic is particularly important. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the capital has repeatedly been the target of Russian missile and drone attacks.
After each strike, rescue workers rush to the scene. They extinguish fires, clear debris, search for people, assist the injured, and deal with the aftermath of the destruction. The photographs in the exhibition depict this work without staging or embellishment. The exhibition “Saving the Capital” will be on view at the Taras Shevchenko National Museum through September 20.
For visitors, this is an opportunity to see the history of Kyiv in recent years through documentary photographs—and at the same time learn more about the people working in the capital during the Russian attacks. The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced the opening of the exhibition.
