Gray Zone

First time I visited the Donbass region was at the beginning of summer of 2014, right at

the beginning of the military conflict. Nobody knew at that time how long this conflict

would last, and how difficult and painful the consequences of this conflict would be.

People of Donbass truly hoped the war would end quickly, and peace would come back to

their long-suffering land. Four years went by. The active phase of the conflict is over, but

there is no peace yet. With this war, hearts of people were filled with uncertainty, despair,

and complete luck of hope. Along the contact line of the fighting sides, so called "Gray

Zone" has been created. This is a conditional name for the territories without a specific

status, with no official government or law enforcement. There are no operational hospitals

or schools there, and there is no work. People's lives are in constant danger because of the

fighting. This protracted long lasting conflict and the foggy future turned the entire

Donbass region into the territory of the Gray Zone. Zones without any clear boundaries

in space and time. The Gray Zone is not only a territory, a piece of land, it is a sensation of

a person completely immersed in the darkness of the unknown in the face of war. This is

the vital state of existential loneliness of a person who has lost all the hope.

© Valery Melnikov - Abandoned house,Village of Kominternovo. Donetsk region, Ukraine
i

Abandoned house,Village of Kominternovo. Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Image from the Gray Zone photography project
i

Vasily Fesko, 73 years old is completely blind, the one of last inhabitants of the frontline village of Sakhanka. Sakhanka is a village on the south of Donetsk region, which is located on the front line. Before the conflict in Donbass, more than a thousand people lived here and now the population has declined dramatically. Donnas region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Abandoned water well. The Yasnoye settlement in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine
i

Abandoned water well. The Yasnoye settlement in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Image from the Gray Zone photography project
i

Alexandra Chubarova,(70) holds the hand of her paralyzed husband, Peter Chubarov, (77). They are one of the last inhabitants of the frontline village of Novomaryevka. Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Image from the Gray Zone photography project
i

Eva Melnichuk, 77 years old. She buried her husband a year ago and she lives alone. She lived in Sakhanka for 30 years. Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - One of the last residents of the frontline village of Shakhty 6/7, Donetsk region, Ukraine
i

One of the last residents of the frontline village of Shakhty 6/7, Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - A local resident collects coal from a mine dump in Donetsk, Ukraine
i

A local resident collects coal from a mine dump in Donetsk, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - . A child in a house near the front line. Outskirts of Donetsk. Ukraine
i

. A child in a house near the front line. Outskirts of Donetsk. Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - The Iversky Monastery destroyed by shelling on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine
i

The Iversky Monastery destroyed by shelling on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Image from the Gray Zone photography project
i

Alexander Vasilyev, 62 years old and his dog. He is the one of the last inhabitants of the frontline village of Novomaryevka, Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Front-line village of Ozerianovka. Donetsk region , Ukraine
i

Front-line village of Ozerianovka. Donetsk region , Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Post office destroyed by shelling. Luhansk region, Ukraine
i

Post office destroyed by shelling. Luhansk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - . A man repairs a power line destroyed by shelling in the village of Donetskyi, Lugansk region.
i

. A man repairs a power line destroyed by shelling in the village of Donetskyi, Lugansk region.

© Valery Melnikov - . Nina Romanovna, 73 years old. Lives alone. Veseloe village. Donetsk region, Ukraine
i

. Nina Romanovna, 73 years old. Lives alone. Veseloe village. Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Destroyed tank. Aftermath of an attack on the village of Kominternovo, Donetsk region, Ukraine
i

Destroyed tank. Aftermath of an attack on the village of Kominternovo, Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Men near the village of Zolotoe in the Luhansk region, Ukraine
i

Men near the village of Zolotoe in the Luhansk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Image from the Gray Zone photography project
i

Alexander Zemlyanko, 63 years old. Lives alone. The house was badly damaged during the shelling. Village of Kominternovo, Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - . A local resident looks at a hole from a shell in the wall in the village of Donetskyi, Lugansk region
i

. A local resident looks at a hole from a shell in the wall in the village of Donetskyi, Lugansk region

© Valery Melnikov - The damaged monument to Soviet politician Sergei Kirov. Gorlovka, Donetsk region, Ukraine
i

The damaged monument to Soviet politician Sergei Kirov. Gorlovka, Donetsk region, Ukraine

© Valery Melnikov - Zinaida Pavlova, 76 is the resident of the frontline village of Kominternovo of the Donetsk region , Ukraine
i

Zinaida Pavlova, 76 is the resident of the frontline village of Kominternovo of the Donetsk region , Ukraine

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.