June 2024

Kutuzivka is a small village northeast of Kharkiv, just 18.5 kilometers from the city center and only 24 kilometers from the Russian border. It was occupied within days of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, and was recaptured on April 28. But life there has not returned to normal — the village remains under constant threat from attacks launched across the nearby border.
Before the war, Kutuzivka had around 1,500 residents. Today, fewer than half remain. The village once had an active community life, centered around the House of Culture.
When Russian forces took control of the village, they established their military headquarters inside that same building. A space once dedicated to collective life became a command post — until liberation.
These portraits are made in that paradoxical transition: between the normality people are trying to rebuild and the memory of what this place once became. Everyday expressions, small acts of routine, and quiet resilience unfold where, not long ago, Ukrainian voices were silenced and replaced by an imposed order.