As a journalist and photographer, I’ve always been drawn to telling people’s stories. And for me, there is no more powerful story than that of war and its consequences. I’ve spent my career documenting the effects of war on civilians, and I hope that by sharing these stories, we can help prevent future wars.
I’m passionate about telling people’s stories. It’s personal for me. When I was 11, war was waged on my homeland of Kosovo by the Serbian armed forces of Yugoslavia, led by that country’s then-president, Slobodan Milošević. And that’s when I first took up my camera, to document its atrocities and consequences.
Today, Serbia is led by Aleksandar Vučić, formerly an information minister in the Milosevic regime – a regime that, between 1990 and 1999, committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo. Back then, Vučić went on TV to deliver threats of more mass violence, and to justify those crimes.
Nadia, a 66-year-old Ukrainian mother and grandmother from Andriivka, shows us the remains of her corridor and bathroom turned into ashes on Sunday, August 14, 2022. (VX Photo/ Vudi Xhymshiti)
Today, he is standing by the Russian Federation, which has annexed Crimea, supports armed separatists in eastern Ukraine and, in February this year, launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine, in an effort to occupy the entire country.
I’m proud that Kosovo has become an engine for peace but that it has also been relentless in not letting Serbia get away with its crimes, and it supports Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation is trying its best to undermine stability in the Western Balkans, using Serbia and its chauvinist leadership as its proxy.
This gallery features images from both my assignments and my personal work since I arrived in Ukraine on 2 August 2022. I shall be adding to it as I continue to document the conflict and its devastating effect on civilians.
I’m based in Kyiv, accredited by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, and I am here to stay.
I’m available for assignments. Get in touch via vx@vxpictures.com.
- Copy Editor: Gill Wing
- Production Assistant: Oleksander Pugach
