Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”For five years now Ukraine has been engaged in an unending war between Russian backed separatists and the Ukrainian military in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine. Once a high profile war that began with theEuromaidan Revolution and the Russian annexation of Crimea, the conflict now simmers and bleeds into the daily life of the people and soldiers living on thefrontlines. With neither side progressing their frontlines, the war is now characterized by artillery bombardments and erratic gunfights along the frontlines which cut through small villages in the mostly rural and gas-rich region. Civilians caught in the midst of the conflict find themselves clutching desperately for a sense of normalcy amid the daily interruptions and hardships of the frontlines. Despite having claimed 13,000 lives and displaced 1.5 million Ukrainians, thereis little discussion and no end in sight of the war. Katya Nalobina, a Ukrainian soldier in the 54th Mechanized Rifle Brigade, poses for a portrait with Ser'Oga, a stray dog that was adopted by her unit, at 'Point Zero' in Zolote-4, a village near Luhansk in Ukraine on February 25, 2019. Zolote-4 is at the very frontlines of the Ukrainian Military's hold on the outskirts of the Separatist held Luhansk People's Republic.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A woman takes one last look at her apartment as she prepares to board a truck to move away from the frontlines of Zolote-4, Ukraine on March 1, 2019. She and others, including children, occupied an apartment building just 30 yards from 'Point Zero' which they shared with Ukrainian Soldiers. After a night of heavy shelling that left the apartment building heavily damaged, most of the remaining civilians decided to flee. Soldiers helped the civilians pack up their few belongings and transported them to safer parts of Zolote.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A Ukrainian soldier inspects the damage from a rocket attack on the apartment building that soldiers and civilians shared the morning after heavy fighting in Zolote-4, Ukraine on February 25, 2019. Shelling and sporadic fighting between Russian backed separatists continues daily in places along the frontlines.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A young girl listens to the sounds of shelling as her mother and sister riffle through donated clothing and housewares collected by a church group in Zolote, Ukraine on February 27, 2019. The constant shelling and fighting on the frontlines of the Donbas War has had a psychological impact on civilians, especially children who often times spend nights sleeping in basements.Children living on the frontlines of the war have high rates of anxiety and depression, associated with the constant stress of what has become daily life.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”Soldiers of the 54th Mechanized Rifle Brigade take a break from helping residents move from an apartment building at 'Point Zero' in Zolote-4, Ukraine on March 1, 2019. Shelling and continued fighting in an increasingly stagnant yet deadly war has displaced some 1.5 million Ukrainian civilians.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A young Ukrainian boy watches as soldiers unload he and his mothers possessions from the back of a military truck in Zolote, Ukraine on March 1, 2019. He and his mother previously lived in Zolote-4, however, a night of heavy shelling from Russian backed separatists forced them to move from their apartment to a location farther from the frontlines and now they are among the 1.5 million internally displaced Ukrainians of the war.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A Ukrainian soldier leaves for his guard shift on 'Point Zero' on February 25, 2019 as a stray dog watches from the inside of a shelled apartment building that soldiers and civilians occupy at Zolote-4 in Ukraine. 'Point Zero' in Zolote-4 is the site of frequent shelling and sporadic fighting between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian backed separatists on the outskirts of Luhansk.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”A young boy at the elementary school in Troit'ske, Ukraine shows signs of fatigue after a night of heavy shelling around the village that forced families into their basements on February 26, 2019. Children living on the frontlines of the ongoing conflict are susceptible to physiological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”As night falls sporadic firefights and shelling breakout around Zolote-4, in Ukraine, a soldier smokes a cigarette while on his guard shift at 'Point Zero' on February 27, 2019. A week earlier a soldier had been wounded in a mortar attack, and by March the soldiers occupying the position had already lost several of their number. The outpost, only a few hundred yards from separatist positions and referred to as 'Point Zero' by soldiers and civilians, is subject to frequent shelling and sporadic firefights between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian backed separatists.
Award of Excellence, Feature Picture Story - Matthew Hatcher / Freelance, “Ukraine's Forgotten War”The principal of the local elementary school in Zolote-4 makes the morning walk from her apartment at 'Point Zero' to the school. The road between 'Point Zero' and the main part of the town is subject to mortar barrages and sniper fire, however civilians make the journey several times a day. The school is often closed in town due to shelling or sporadic firefights occurring early in the morning.
