Between the Sirens

© Gerd Waliszewski - Rita shoots an air soft rifle at a picnic in her grandma‘s backyard.

Dates

2022 - Ongoing
Author

Gerd Waliszewski
Location Ukraine

Amidst the harsh reality of war-dominated Ukraine, young people try to live their lives, regularly interrupted by air raid sirens. The work gives an insight into the reality of a generation that is confronted with the fragility of life and home.

Amidst the harsh reality of war-dominated Ukraine, young people try to go on with their lives. But this is regularly interrupted by warning sirens. Missiles inbound.

"Between the Sirens" focuses on young Ukrainians as a symbol of future, as they are the generation on whose shoulders the greatest responsibility for rebuilding their state after the end of the war will rest upon. The work gives a current insight into the reality of a generation that is confronted on a daily basis with the fragility of their lives and home. What kind of country will Ukraine become if it will be rebuilt by a generation traumatized by war?

Young boy photographs an unexploded missile that has been lodged into the street on Maidan Svobody in Kharkiv in front of the state administrational building. It reminds of the Russian bombardment of the city.

Rita shoots an air soft rifle at a picnic in her grandma‘s backyard.

The four friends Anya, Sascha, Kolja and Artur spin the tires on their scooters at the port of Izmail. The Danube port has become the target of Russian drone attacks, since the grain deal with Russia expired at the end of July 2023.

Pavlo left his hometown of Horlivka in the Donetsk region at the beginning of the ATO in 2014. The city is now under Russian occupation. He misses the Donbas - whose flag can be seen above his head as he hits a selfmade water bottle bong.

In the entrance hall of the Izmail State Humanitarian University, confiscated military equipment of the Russian attackers from the front is on display, as well as parts of downed drones that were aimed at the city of Izmail.

Since the curfew in Lviv starts as early as 12 a.m., party people continue partying and stay in the venue until the next morning.

After the uncertain spring following the start of the war, the first club sand venues opened in the summer of 2022. Nevertheless, as the range of events has remained small, music groups and collectives have had to organize unofficial events.

During one of the numerous air raids in May 2023, the two young footballers sought shelter in an underground station. They were just on their way to soccer practice when they were surprised by air raid sirens.

During one of the countless missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital, Mariia takes cover in the corridor of her apartment. A safety precaution for those without a shelter nearby.

Young people gathering at the lake in Kropyvnytskyi at a warm evening during the first summer after the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion.

Ksyusha was resettled to a neighboring village in Kherson Oblast after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June 2023.

Izmail is home to a civil shipping department of the Odesa Maritime Academy. The first-year students can be recognized by their blue uniforms. Soon they will have to prove themselves in an examination to become fully-fledged cadets.

Mikita is from Crimea and works in a small private drone factory. As drone imports are often too expensive and take too long to produce, Ukraine needs domestic production to meet the high demand.

With the onset of autumn 2022, Russia has set its tactics on terrorizing the Ukrainian population by targeting energy infrastructure with missile attacks. The consequences are power and heating outages that last for hours.

Dima and friends at the Glass Bridge in Kyiv, which was struck by a Russian rocket in October 2022.

Yevheniya and Stas kiss at the reopening of a bar that closed after the outbreak of war. Thanks to the stopping of the Russian attack by the Ukrainian army, the summer was a time to take a breath from the war in many Ukrainian cities.

Passport photo of anunknown young man onthe floor of the destroyedheadquarters of theUkrainian intelligence inKharkiv.

At a military cemeterynext to the Lychakivsky Cemeteryin Lviv, the daily burialscommemorate thefighters who died on the front lines. And the prepared, half-dug graves, commemorate those who are yet to fall.

The beaches and piersat the Black Sea are apopular spot for young people in Odesa. In the distance, beyond the horizon, station Russian warships, which regularly fire at the city with guided missiles.

Between the Sirens by Gerd Waliszewski

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