Chernihiv – Moments in a devastated city

March-April 2022

A destroyed apartment complex after Russian bombing that caused over fifty casualties including children, countless wounded civilians and many people left homeless, Chernihiv, Ukraine 20/03/2022.

The siege on Chernihiv began on February 24th 2022. The ancient and historical city, that is tied to Kyiv, suffered incredibly from the attempted Russian siege of the capital. As a strategic advance point for the Russian troops Chernihiv, and its civilian population, was under heavy bombardment for a month.

Natali in her destroyed apartment home.
Natali in her destroyed home, Chernihiv, Ukraine, 06/04/2022.

The Ukrainian resistance military fiercely battled the Russian tanks and personnel. The Russian military never made it inside the city. Nonetheless countless lives were lost.

A Russian tank was intercepted and destroyed immediately after it had deliberately fired and destroyed a small farm, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 05/04/2022.
The last fights to chase the Russian attackers are still ongoing in the outskirts of town. Civilian and military bodies arrive at the morgue constantly. Measures to deal with the overflow are in constant adaptation, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.
Gaskets awaiting bodies have been prepared in advance for the large number of people expected to surface from the rumbles of the city, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.

After the siege the city was devastated and the humanitarian condition disastrous. Without water, electricity, communication and food. The hospitals’ patients were lying in corridors in near freezing conditions while community volunteers resorted to cooking meals outside.

Oleksiy Yeremenko y Svitlana mourn their son Pavlo who was killed during artillery attack by Russian troops at the main stadium of the city, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 14/04/2022.
Chernihiv Ukraine 06/04/2022 - Soldiers returning from the last operations after liberating the city from the invaders.
Soldiers return from their last operations after liberating the city, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 06/04/2022.
Chernihiv Ukraine, the city's largest cemetery .
The city's largest cemetery was targeted during the night, Chernihiv, Ukraine - 06/04/2022 .

Independent organisations sent food and supplies through the Ukrainian Red Cross, the only international humanitarian organisation present in Chernihiv. Convoys traveled across an uncharted alternative route to reach the town and bring the supplies.

Last bridge and route to enter Chernihiv, smoke from the conflict on the horizon.
The last bridge to enter the city. It was bombed on March 22nd effectively closing all access.

"I joined the Ukrainian Red Cross in March, on a 24-hour flash visit of a convoy that took supplies into the city and evacuated a young woman gravely wounded at her legs by a Russian rocket. Throughout 2022 I documented Chernihiv, and I continue to do so in 2023. From before the last access bridge was blown, and immediately after the liberation from the Russian siege, to how the city and its inhabitants are today."
— Federico Quintana -

People use a free generator recharge phones, talk to their loved obnes, family and friends, send messages, it is a large hall filled with people at tables at Kherson train station.
Aftermath
Oleksandrivka & Kherson
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