Kyiv Hosts Powerful War Photo Exhibit Honoring Ukrainian Infantry
To mark Infantry Day, a photo exhibition called First Line opened at Pivdennyi railway station in Kyiv.
It features 50 photographs showing the combat work and life of Ukrainian infantrymen at the front in 2022-2025, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.
In a comment, Vitaliy Sarantsev, head of the Communications Department of the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the photo exhibition covers “the entire combat geography” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the infantry.
“The photo exhibition presents works made since the beginning of the full-scale war: from 2022 to 2025. To create it, we selected thousands of photos. Then the most difficult process began: we had to choose only the 50 best photos that, in our opinion, best convey the military atmosphere. Here you can see photos from Kherson, Donetsk and Kharkiv directions. In other words, the entire combat geography of the Ukrainian Army and infantry is depicted here. We believe that these works reflect the everyday life of every Ukrainian infantryman who holds the front. Ukraine is standing because the infantry is standing,” Sarantsev said.
According to him, Kyiv residents and guests of the capital will be able to see the works of military photojournalists at the Pivdennyi railway station over the next two weeks. After that, the photo exhibition will be presented in other regional centers of the country. In particular, in educational and cultural institutions.
Sarantsev also added that the selection of photos was based not on the names of the photographers, but on the quality, subject and composition.
According to Taras Tkachenko, head of the first Center for Information and Communication Support of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it is no coincidence that the photo exhibition dedicated to Infantry Day was launched at Pivdennyi railway station.
“Our descendants will paint a portrait of this full-scale war based on these photos. It was important for us that the exhibition was held not somewhere in a museum, but right here, at the railway station, where the paths of millions of Ukrainians cross. Some of them are traveling to the East, and some are coming from the East. They have to look into these eyes and remember who is the reason why our citizens still have the opportunity to live in peace. And those who are going to war should feel that we know and appreciate their daily, hard work,” emphasized Tkachenko.
In his turn, Lieutenant Oleh Petrasyuk, communications officer of the 24th Brigade named after King Danylo, told journalists that he is the author of 11 works of the photo exhibition dedicated to the Infantry Day.
“For the most part, they almost all depict combat work or the life of the infantry. I am the press officer of a brigade that has been stationed in the Chasiv Yar area [Donetsk region] for almost a year. Most of the photos here were taken near this settlement. And it should be understood that everything that is done in the army works for the infantry. Everything that is done in the army is done to make the life of an infantryman easier, because it is no longer easy,” emphasized Petrasiuk.
The exhibition features works by civilian and military photographers. In particular, war correspondent Serhiy Nuzhnenko, photographer and veteran of the 72nd Black Zaporizhzhia Brigade Valentyn Kuzan, officer of the communications department of the 15th Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Mate, photojournalists Andrii Andriyenko, Oksana Chorna, Anatolii Melnyk, Oleksandr Denysenko and others.
As reported, Ukraine celebrates Infantry Day on Tuesday, May 6. The day was established on April 19, 2019 by the fifth President of Ukraine to honor the courage and heroism of soldiers of mechanized, motorized infantry, mountain assault military units and units of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, displayed in the struggle for freedom, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as the establishment of modern military traditions.
