marko drobnjakovic

photography: #donbassdiary

images in this gallery were taken with a mobile phone while i was on a video assignment in eastern ukraine. they are ordered chronologically, and they represent my personal reactions to the events i was witnessing in a form of a visual diary. the photo captions are brief explanations of the scenes, combined with the related thoughts i scribbled in my little black notebook.  

  • june 6, 2014. a crime scene, donetsk, ukraine. just arrived. n. explains the basic parameters. someone calls, says there's been an assassination downtown. i go there with a. and e. people pass by as if nothing.
  • june 9, 2014. getting out of slovyansk, ukraine. three hour drive in a's van.
  • june 9, 2014. the train track crossing guard, slovyansk, ukraine. two checkpoints. some guys man the first barricade with hunting rifles. main boulevard to city center filled with debris from shelling. go in fast, get out faster.
  • june 10, 2014. a member of a pro russian militia, donetsk, ukraine. interview with some guy. armed man in uniform goes in our minivan, nom de guerre engineer. can't go back now. takes us to a checkpoint, pretty boring. film for ten minutes, then get back to hotel.
  • june 12, 2014. a billboard, artemivsk, ukraine. on the road to slovyansk. i eat kit kats. m. eats snickers. a smokes his pipe.
  • june 12, 2014. suspected marauders, slovyansk, ukraine. another three hour drive through villages. this time three checkpoints. ukrainian army in apc's stationed in a forest by the side of the main road. a. turns the minivan back. we decide we have to go in. i tell everybody to put flak jackets on. people downtown so traumatized i tell everybody to take flak jackets off. a. wants to visit his aunt and deliver water for her family. as we wait for him to descend from the apartment, shelling starts. flack jackets back on.
  • june 12, 2014. a car bomb, donetsk, ukraine. we sit in a pub to watch football. huge detonation downtown, my camera at hotel. running, filming with phone. a small man with a gun comes from behind, points gun, shouts, orders me and e. to the floor. takes us to a back alley filled with men with guns. e. knows a guy, we're free to film. the guy i met two days before and had a nice chat with about bosnia is dead in the car.
  • june 13, 2014. the aftermath of a firefight, mariupol, ukraine. big checkpoint. a. asks the ukrainian soldiers to search reuters' car so they lose time.
  • june 13, 2014. a man shows used ammunition rounds, mariupol, ukraine. big firefight downtown. flak jackets on. rest of the city looks normal. we stand out too much, locals surround us, hostile. i talk a lot, we go.
  • june 13, 2014. two men at a scene of a firefight, mariupol, ukraine. we're not allowed access. a big dude starts cursing at me, a. tells him to fuck off while smoking his pipe.
  • june 14, 2014. a billboard depicting stalin, gorlovka, ukraine. phone rings at 7am. boss says huge plane went down around lugansk.
  • june 14, 2014. a member of a pro russian militia stands in a field of wheat, lugansk, ukraine. noone knows where the plane is. flak jackets on. something feels strange. i tell a. to drive slowly. we get ambushed by friendly pro russians. they take us to the plane.
  • june 14, 2014. the tail section and other debris from a ukrainian army plane downed by pro russian forces lie in a field, lugansk, ukraine. plane in a field of tall grass. one pro russian starts pulling a huge wire from the field. says 'claymore'. we all want to get closer. i ask a soldier to lead us to the plane in a single file. i turn around to check on my guys, m. is texting on his phone, e. is taking photos with his phone. i shout. they stop. we film. someone shouts 'helicopter!', we get out same way we got in. i turn around to check on my guys, e. is nowhere to be found. i shout. he appears.
  • june 15, 2014. a shopping mall, donetsk, ukraine. we take a day off. i buy skinny jeans at mall, no normal jeans available, my only pair shread to pieces. i'm too tall.
  • june 16, 2014. a statue holds the pro russian flag of st. george, artemivsk, ukraine. going to krasnodon to meet the infamous nom de guerre alyosha.
  • june 16, 2014. a cemetery, artemivsk, ukraine. nom de guerre alyosha chooses to get into our minivan in broad daylight, while people around. wants us to go film ukrainian positions around the border and come back to show him the footage. i ask a. to explain to him we won't do that. he seems to understand. we go back to donetsk. no story today.
  • june 17, 2014. a body is taken into an ambulance, lugansk, ukraine. we hear of fighting around the border. can't find anything anywhere. at hospital, a body of a dead pro russian fighter being loaded into ambulance by his comrades. they order us not to film, but they're okay with photos.
  • june 18, 2014. passengers on a tram, donetsk, ukraine. miners strike. we walk a lot. m. films, i take photos with my phone.
  • june 18, 2014. miners at a protest, donetsk, ukraine. why do they walk so much? i'm tired.
  • june 18, 2014. people on a street, donetsk, ukraine. i follow a miner with a lot of medals carrying a red flag on his shoulder. he knows yugoslavia, been there in the 60's.
  • june 18, 2014. miners at a protest, donetsk, ukraine. finally we reach the lenin square. pretty uneventful.
  • june 18, 2014. pro russian militiamen, karlovka, ukraine. we see v. downtown, he tells us something is happening in karlovka. on the way there we stop so a. can buy fish from an old lady by the side of a road in a forest. alfa romeo, lithuanian license plates, gets my attention. a big tall dude in camo gets out, invites us to see an exchange of dead bodies by two sides on the line of separation. bmw, russian license plates parks next to a.'s minivan. a guy in a balaclava gets out, takes a rpg out of the trunk, leans it on the side of the car. flak jackets on.
  • june 18, 2014. pro russian militiamen, karlovka, ukraine. sun sets. two sides at war meet on a road bridge over a body of water. ukrainians wave a white flag. bodies are exchanged. huge white cross at background. we finish filming. the guys ask us to take their photo after it's done. very friendly bunch. on our way back, a drunk man fires a warning shot in the direction of a.'s minvan. a. tells him to fuck off, then lights his pipe.
  • june 20, 2014. a man takes down parts of a street light damaged in clashes, artemivsk, ukraine. we spend the whole day chasing tanks on the road to lugansk. tanks pass us by on the highway, we make a u-turn and follow them. they can see us now. the unit stops, a guy walks up to a. and m. and tells them we should disappear. a. asks for 5 minutes of filming, they agree.
  • june 20, 2014. a youth clears rubble at a warehouse damaged in clashes, artemivsk, ukraine. everyone saw last night's tank battle, noone wants to talk to me. two drunk men pester us.
  • june 20, 2014. a wedding, donetsk, ukraine. there's a wedding in my hotel, i'm gonna go take pictures.
  • june 21, 2014. members of a pro russian militia stand to attention, donetsk, ukraine. a show of strength at lenin square. i take out the new camera for the first time, then put it back in the bag. i don't want it to get smashed by an idiot. new cameras attract idiots.
  • june 21, 2014. a member of a pro russian militia takes an oath of allegiance, donetsk, ukraine. a row of armed men in military attire. one guy puts a gun to his heart as he repeats the oath.
  • june 21, 2014. members of a pro russian militia, donetsk, ukraine. m. films today. he points his camera at armed guys driving an old mercedes, donetsk license plates. i knew it was trouble. the guy steps up to him, asking to see the footage. m. is courteous, but this guy doesn't understand courtesy.
  • june 21, 2014. a war veteran, donetsk, ukraine. i start talking serbian, the guy lets us be. an amazing old veteran with medals appears briefly from the crowd. i take two photos, he disappears. can't find him.
  • june 21, 2014. a woman weeps, donetsk, ukraine. the uniforms go away. all of a sudden, the square is full of civilians that are sad for no apparent reason.
  • june 21, 2014. a lady uses theater binoculars, donetsk, ukraine. underboss calls. asks me to remain in donetsk for two more weeks. i say no.
  • june 23, 2014. a protest, donetsk, ukraine. talks of truce. leonid kuchma in town. m. films today, he is excellent, takes too much time. protesters surround kuchma's car.
  • june 23, 2014. a protest, donetsk, ukraine. kuchma escapes unharmed. no big deal. i go to the hotel bar and get drunk with a bunch of local dentists. they ask me when the war will be over, i don't know what to tell them so i lie. they knew i lied.
  • home
  • photography
    • a record of solitude: the balkans refugee route
      • the record
      • #thediary
    • the dew before the sun: the kiev revolution
    • #donbassdiary
    • foreign fighters: iraq 2006-2009
    • the raiders of diyala: neither hearts nor minds
    • the anniversaries
  • multimedia
    • a home for the homeless
  • private galleries
  • about me
  • contact

marko drobnjakovic and/or the associated press. Site design © 2010-2018 Neon Sky Creative Media