This is a small city called Lozova. In early May 2022, Russia carried out a missile strike on the city’s House of Culture. The building had just been renovated, yet it was destroyed in the attack. The strike was justified with claims that the building allegedly housed military personnel and that its backyard served as a military parking area and training ground.
Photographs show a different reality. Next to the building there is a children’s playground. Instead of military vehicles, there is an empty football field with no signs of military activity. No tire tracks, no traces of heavy equipment — just a clean field.
War is not limited to the front line. It exists in cities and homes as well. Although Lozova lies close to the front, civilians carry much of the burden. Constant shelling and air-raid sirens wear down people’s mental resilience. Daily life is further disrupted by long power outages and water supply failures. When electricity is cut, water stops flowing. Drinking water is available only through special vending machines and distribution points.
Since 2022, the presence of military personnel in the city has increased again. Tension is constant. People fear the front line drawing closer, yet they try to maintain a sense of normal life — as a way to cope.
Additional photographs were taken just moments before the impact of a guided aerial bomb (KAB). A family survived because their dog instinctively began pulling a child toward home shortly before the explosion. Moments later, the blast occurred.
After the explosion, the child looked at his mother and asked:
“What was that explosion?”
The mother replied:
“Don’t worry.”
The child said:
“It’s Artan. He is protecting us.”
The child was not afraid. Many children are already accustomed to explosions. That is what is most disturbing: children growing up in a reality where explosions are part of everyday life. They no longer panic — they only ask.