Since February 2022, the international community hear the names of Ukrainian cities Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Kherson, Izyum, Severodonetsk, and others. All these cities are related to the devastating consequences of Russian full-scale war against Ukraine.
Some of them suffered more, others less. However, Ukrainians were killed in each of them.
I know some of these cities not just from the news, they are part of my memories. Kharkiv is the city of my birth and childhood. I have been living in Kyiv since I was 15 years old. Bucha was one of the cities where I used to meet my friends.
However, the war added to these memories impressions of destruction and tragedy that I could not imagine before. Just a year ago it was hard to believe that there would be many more cities affected by Russian war against Ukraine.
In Cartography of War, I want to convey that cities can be perceived differently. For some, it is a point on the map of Eastern Europe or Ukraine, for others part of their biography. Some see in them something native, and others see only a target for missiles to satisfy Russian imperial ambitions.
Cities where blood was spilled now resemble crippled living organisms. They are suffering without light and water, while their blood continues to flow on the streets and the ruins of destroyed infrastructure.
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