Donbass – Ten years of war by Rafael Yaghobzadeh

Ukrainian women in a bus wait for the end of shelling at the crossing point between
the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Ukraine, 12 May 2015.

© Rafael Yaghobzadeh

FROM OCTOBER 7 TO NOVEMBER 11

Donbass – Ten years of war by Rafael Yaghobzadeh
2014 – 2024

From the Euromaidan revolution, to the annexation referendum in Crimea, from the war in the Donbass, to Zelensky’s presidential election, to the Russian invasion in February 2022, French photographer Rafael Yaghobzadeh has witnessed the major changes and upheavals in Ukrainian society. Since the referendums organised by the pro-Russian entities in May 2014, he has been documenting the situation in the Ukrainian region of Donbass. When Russian troops invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Rafael Yaghobzadeh was in Donbass on assignment for Libération. He returned to the region more than ten times between 2022 and 2024 for the daily Le Monde. The Donbass – Ten Years of war exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the history of the region, using maps, archive documents and objects gleaned from its many travels to illustrate the identity, economy and culture of the coalfield over the decades. Then, in an immersive tour, visitors follow the evolution from 2014 to 2017 of the civil and military situation on both sides of the front line between the territories controlled by Ukrainian forces and those controlled by pro-Russian forces, before moving on to the large-scale Russian invasion from 2022 to
the present day.
Rafael Yaghobzadeh points out that, at the time of writing, many of the places photographed in recent years, such as Mariupol, Bakhmut, Shchastia, Mariinka, Avdïïvka, Severodonetsk and Svatove, are still controlled by Russian forces, and that the situation in the region is still very fragile and critical.

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Building
Place de la liberté

Open everyday from October 7 to October 13
10 am to 12.30 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm
Open Wednesday to Sunday from October 14 to November 11
2 pm to 7 pm
Exceptionally open Friday October 11 until 7 pm

Saturday October 12 from 10 am to 6 pm

Monday November 11 from 2 pm to 7 pm
Free admission