KHARKIV, UKRAINE – A colorful sunset over military graves in the Kharkiv cemetery 18 on March15, 2023 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. The military section of this large cemetery is almost full as many soldiers come from Kharkiv. Many of the recent casualties were killed in Bakhmut as Ukrainian soldiers are being hit hard on three sides by Russian forces, taking many lives.
(Photo by Paula Bronstein /Getty Images)
The massive military section of Kharkiv cemetery number 18 is now almost completely full. It was a real shock to see so many more graves since my last visit over 3 months ago. Kharkiv is Ukraine’s second largest city having many who have joined the battle, recently Bakhmut has taken too many lives. On the day I took this sunset picture I had photographed five funerals in the morning, each family had their own priest so funerals were taking place all at the same time, it was overwhelming. I was emotionally drained, but told Mykola, my fixer and driver that I wanted to come back later in the day when the light had changed to reflect a different mood. I wasn’t able to use the drone in this location, so I started taking photos standing on top of the car. As the sun was going down it became so beautiful, turning orange and pink, truly it was the image that I had hoped for.
