Ukraine Teens
Three years into Ukraine’s defense of the Russian invasion, teenagers in Kyiv are forging a new normal. We followed a few through their lives in wartime.
April/May 2024. Kyiv Ukraine
Anna Donets, a 17 year old photography student and student at the Democracy School, photographs the Free Azov protests held every sunday in Kyiv largely by youth to combat indifference and apathy to the plight of Azov battalion and other soldiers, national heroes for Ukraine, to be released from Russian Captivity.
Anna spends a lot of time volunteering and dreams of being a photojournalist when she graduates.
As Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine continues its 3rd year, and Ukrainians grapple with its tragic death toll, collective trauma, and get used to a “new normal” of frequent missile attacks, power outages and deaths close to home, Ukrainian teens are coming of age as a generation forged in the years since the revolution of dignity 10 years ago, and the victories and horror that have come after. For Kyiv’s teens, those who remain because many have fled the country, they live sandwiched between the relatively normalcy afforded by the Russians being forced back from the city 2 years ago, and the city’s superior air defenses, and the constant drum beat of death and destruction around the country which hits home frequently too. Kyiv’s diverse youth have drastically different relationships with the war, from those who experienced occupation first hand or have relatives fighting, to those who plan to join the military when they turn 18, to those who plan to flee before their birthday.
(Natalie Keyssar )