Andriy Dubchak has been at the front since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian photojournalist is currently traveling along the Kakhovka reservoir. He tells SRF News what he experiences and sees there.
SRF News: The destruction of the dam has flooded huge areas and there is no water in the upper reaches of the river. Do we have to speak of an ecological catastrophe?
Andriy Dubchak: There is no longer any habitat for fish or birds, no water for technical facilities, no water for agriculture. Soon everything will be desert here. I spoke to scientists and ecologists on my trip: they too cannot predict what the future will bring because they have no comparison for a catastrophe of this magnitude.
The reservoir was the reservoir for an irrigation system that supplied water to around 600,000 hectares of agricultural land. What does that mean for the harvest?
Food security is at risk because a lot of food is traditionally produced in this region: tomatoes, onions and lots of cereals. Agriculture is also an important export factor. This will be a big problem for Ukraine in the years to come. It will take many years to restore the dam and then bring the water level back up. But to do all that, we must first end the war.
The flood has also washed away many land mines which are now scattered across the landscape.
This is a great danger. It has many mines that were hidden by the infantry because some regions here on the Dnipro were occupied by the Russians. Those floating land mines are now somewhere along the river banks and in the fields.
Every day brings new horrors to this country.
Everywhere you look there are problems: mines, missiles, economic crisis, now this ecological catastrophe. Every day brings new horrors to this land. There are days when you accept that, but it just can’t be that that’s our reality.
First the war, now this catastrophe. Do people still have hope?
The Russians had initially also occupied parts of this area. Then about half of the people returned to the villages and towns, the region was considered a safe zone: and now this. Down by the Dnipro River there is heavy artillery shelling, there are almost no people there.
Sometimes there is almost no hope left.
Sometimes there is almost no hope left. Only people waiting for the end of the war. And then realizing how long it will take to rebuild their lives
You have been at the front as a photo reporter since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, how do you deal with it?
In the first days of the invasion I went to the front, at that time to Kiev. It was kind of unreal to me. Since then I have seen many tragedies: homeless people and children, dead bodies, shells, destroyed houses, hundreds of kilometers of destroyed villages and towns.
With my pictures I want to depict the reality of war. So that the world can see what is happening here.
Some soldiers are really brave. Even without legs, without hands, they want to go back to the army and fight for Ukraine. Some soldiers are very strong; others are just human. With my pictures I want to depict the reality of war. So that the world can see what is happening here.
The conversation was led by Barbara Lüthi.