And then the winter came

An internationally renowned, award-winning photographer and filmmaker, published in The Guardian, Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Spiegel, De Zeit, Wired USA, Asian Geo, China Newsweek, National Geographic USA

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, starting a full-scale war. Having failed to take Kyiv and after the slowdown suffered in the various ground operations in the Donbass due to the strenuous resistance of the Western-backed Ukrainian army, Russia changed its war strategy as winter approached.

In fact, Russia in recent months has started to hit power plants to put the population in the dark and cold during the harsh Ukrainian winter. More than half of the country currently lives without electricity, water and heating. Particularly difficult is the situation in the capital Kyiv and its suburbs, which were destroyed in the first months of the war and are continuously targeted by missile and drone attacks on an almost daily basis. Now winter has arrived, where temperatures drop as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. After almost a year, the situation in Ukraine is extremely dramatic and a particularly complicated and difficult winter for the Ukrainian population is in sight.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

The sign of the Kafe-Bar Myslyvsʹkyy Dim, along the road to Ivankiv. This bar hotel before the war was a popular place in the region for weddings and parties. At the beginning of the war it was a base for Ukrainian troops to counter the Russian advance towards the capital Kyiv. It was bombed and destroyed by the Russians.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Irina Yurina with her dog while sheltering in a basement. Irina Yurina has been living since the beginning of the war, now nine months after her house was destroyed, in this basement to shelter from the bombing by the Russians, without light, water and heating. In winter, temperatures reach minus 20. Due to a problem with her legs, Irina finds it hard to get out of bed and spends most of her time lying down. She has no family and only a few friends help her survive.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Destroyed buildings in Borodyanka. Borodyanka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv. During the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this district lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Pavlov Kostantinovich getting water from a broken pipe. Pavlov lives in his flat in a building half destroyed by Russian bombing, without light, water and heating since the beginning of the war. Horenka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this district lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Volodymir Aleksyevic looking at the hole in the roof of his house caused by a Russian mortar shell. Volodymir's flat was destroyed in the first days of the war when the Russians occupied Irpin. He has been living without electricity, water and heating ever since, hoping to repair his flat. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this district lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Tatiana in her house. She is living here from the beginning of the war, without electricity, water and Heating. Horenka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

A painting in a flat destroyed by Russian bombing. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

The destroyed church in Hostomel being repaired. Hostomel is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Natalia Mihailovna, 62, weeps as she recounts the days she spent under Russian occupation. Natalia lives in Andriivka a village almost totally destroyed by Russian bombing.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

A destroyed building in Borodyanka. Borodyanka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Nikolai Petrovic and Lubovi Ivanova in their house in Irpin. they have been living for months without electricity, water and heating. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Shelves in a flat destroyed by Russian bombing in Irpin. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

The caretaker of the Kafe-Bar Myslyvsʹkyy Dim, along the road to Ivankiv. This bar hotel before the war was a popular place in the region for weddings and parties. At the beginning of the war it was a base for Ukrainian troops to counter the Russian advance towards the capital Kyiv. It was bombed and destroyed by the Russians. Only a few rooms and a few objects were saved from the bombing. the caretaker has the task of maintaining what remains until the end of the war and pending the restoration of the hotel

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Destroyed cars by the Russian shelling, Hostomel.
i

Destroyed cars by the Russian shelling, Hostomel.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Yelena Kaut in her flat destroyed by Russian bombing in Irpin. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this district lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

A destroyed building in Borodyanka. Borodyanka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population of this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Anton Yuhimenko in his home while working on his computer during a power blackout. Anton Yuhimenko was a tour guide in Chernobyl before the war. With the start of the war he lost his job and now tries to sell the thousands of photographs he has taken over the years in the Chernobyl exclusion zone in order to make a living. In his neighbourhood, electricity is rationed and comes on about four hours a day. On some days it even fails for more than 30 hours.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Eduard and Julian Serhinko shoveling snow from the roof of their flat. Eduard and Julian continue to live in their flat located in a building destroyed by Russian bombing. Every day they have to shovel the snow that accumulates on the roof of their flat to prevent water from seeping in and the ceiling from collapsing under the weight of the snow. They have been living since the beginning of the war without light, water and heating. Irpin is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital, this district was occupied and heavily bombed by the Russians. Most of the population in this neighbourhood lives without electricity, water and heating

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

Family photos in a house in Horenka illuminated by torchlight due to the total lack of electricity. Horenka is one of the outlying districts of Kyiv, and it was occupied and heavily bombed during the first months of the war when the Russians tried to take the capital. Most of the population here lives without electricity, water and heating.

© Pierpaolo Mittica - Image from the And then the winter came photography project
i

A shop illuminated by a power generator during a blackout in Kyiv in front of the Friendship Arch. The Arch of Friendship of Peoples is a monument located in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It was opened on 7 November 1982 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the USSR and the 1,500th anniversary of the city of Kyiv. After the Russian invasion on 24 February, the Ukrainian government decided to dismantle it, justifying its removal by the loss of its ideological significance.

Latest Projects

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Stay in the loop


We will send you weekly news on contemporary photography. You can change your mind at any time. We will treat your data with respect. For more information please visit our privacy policy. By ticking here, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with them. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.