Europe/Central Asia

The importance of independent and reliable information has never been greater. We stand with all our partners in Ukraine who are reporting this war despite great personal risk and distress. Carsten von Nahmen, Managing Director, DW Akademie

DW Akademie in Europe and Central Asia

It has been three decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain but political and financial pressures on the media are still common in regions in Europe and Central Asia. Increasing restraints on the media in Azerbaijan, Belarus or Tajikistan, for example, contrast with a few bright spots such as Georgia, Moldova or Kyrgyzstan.

DW Akademie is responding with tailor-made projects. In Southeast Europe we are encouraging closer ties with the European Union, for example through a center of excellence in the Western Balkans.

Our focus in Central Asia is on strengthening community journalism to give people access to information. In the South Caucasus we are focusing on the social participation of rural groups and the financial sustainability of local media.

News

Ukraine: George Ivanchenko shares images and stories of life near the front lines

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Ukrainian photographer George Ivanchenko gives a personal insight into what it is like to be living in the country today.

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George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Lviv, Feb 27, 2022

This photo was taken on the second or third day of the full-scale invasion, in Lviv in my apartment. My friend, his girlfriend and their cat are in the photo. They evacuated from Vinnytsia to Lviv. Why is it so valuable to me? Because this is the moment when the decision was made: Nastia and my girlfriend were going to the Czech Republic, that we would not see them for a long time.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Borodyanka, Kyiv region, April 2022

I went to Borodyanka the first day of de-occupation because I was born in a village near there. I remember its buildings, I remember where I got my hair cut for a Kinder egg, I remember the market and the main street. This building was hit by a Russian airstrike and at the moment the photo was taken, the State Emergency Service was still working to free people under the rubble in the basement.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Synkivka, Chernihiv region, April 2022

I was in a small village with old wooden houses. I looked into a yard and I happened to see this. It is a shell, probably from a hurricane or tornado missile. This is situated only 600 meters from where the three borders of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia meet. There is a monument called the three sisters and, symbolically, from that place they were shelling the Chernihiv region.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, April 2023

A canal divides Chasiv Yar and there's one such district across the canal in the direction of Bakhmut - the side of hell - it's quite a dangerous area. In one apartment block there is a tank next to a crater from a missile, in which a soldier is probably buried. There is no more information, but it's an incredibly sad and incredibly horrible picture and situation.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, April 2023

Serhiy, age 17, is on the right, and the owner of a beautiful red Lada, 27-year-old Dmytro, is on the left. They are washing their car while a house burns, caused by phosphorus bombs. I like this situation because they are doing something routine. Despite the fact that there is a war and they are four kilometers from the front line, they are so easygoing, carefree, washing their car.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, April 2023

The road to Bakhmut goes through Chasiv Yar. This is a local woman, her name is Zinaida. She is 72 years old. She is Orthodox and she took us to her apartment. The whole room is covered with paper icons and to her left, there is an altar with a candelabrum where she prays. She told me that her day usually starts at 3 am with a 3-hour prayer.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Bakhmut, Donetsk region, June 2023

This is a girl named Milana, she is about 11 years old. We became good friends at that moment. We played monopoly, had tea, talked. It was so warm, so cozy, so nice. I don't think I've ever felt like that in my family home, as I did in that basement in Bakhmut. As far as I know, Milanka is not evacuated, although many people with their children fled the building after the missile hit it.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Mykolaiv city, June 2022

It's a hot summer in Mykolaiv which is a near-frontline city. I thought it would be safe there. But every morning from 5-5:40 am the city was shelled with five to twelve cruise or ballistic missiles. This photo shows workers returning home because a missile hit an oil warehouse. The warehouse was burning for two or three days and when it was put out, it started to burn again.
George Ivanchenko: Unbreakable

Kherson, November 2022

This is during the liberation of the Kherson region. This region is important to me because I lived there for five years. I captured the joy and delight after the Russian occupiers had finally left the city. Although now I look at it with a different perspective in the sense that the city suffers so much every day from shelling and many people are killed. But that moment was a moment of victory.

Dani Leese

Head of Department Asia and Europe

T: +49.228.429-3521
E: dw-akademie@dw.com

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