MAKSYM

Maksym’s life shifted abruptly with the invasion, forcing him to leave behind his home and the sense of safety that once defined his childhood. Living through occupation, and losing his father in the war, shaped his understanding of how fragile normal life can be. His reflections carry both anger and clarity, grounded in what was taken from him and from others his age. Yet within this, he recognises the danger of hatred, describing it as something that can consume from within. His story remains suspended in that tension, between loss and the effort to hold on to a sense of humanity.

This portrait was made in co-production with the Volya Foundation, caring for children experiencing the war in Ukraine. https://www.ukrainevolya.org/