歐洲，長期專題

Guillaume Herbaut

法國，Agence VU’

烏克蘭危機

此專題拍攝於2013到2021年間，著眼於2022年烏克蘭戰爭爆發前的長期背景。烏克蘭東西部之間的緊張局勢在2014年加劇，當時克里姆林宮支持的部隊佔領了克里米亞半島，而頓內次克和盧甘斯克東部地區的分裂主義分子則自行建立了人民共和國——國際社會對此政權大多不予承認。

緊張局勢持續，俄羅斯於2021年4月開始在烏克蘭邊境增兵。同年12月，俄羅斯總統普丁提出了一系列安全要求，包括永久禁止烏克蘭加入北約，本已動盪的局勢愈演愈烈。 2月21日，普丁總統正式承認頓內次克人民共和國（DNR）和盧甘斯克人民共和國（LNR）的獨立。三天後，俄羅斯發動了對烏克蘭的全面入侵。

2013年12月19日，烏克蘭科托夫斯克，切米諾公園裡矗立著一尊被斷頭的列寧雕像。這座雕像於12月8日至9日晚上被極端國家主義者摧毀。

Europe, Long-Term Projects

Guillaume Herbaut

France, Agence VU’

Ukraine Crisis

Photographed over 2013-2021, this project looks at the longer-term context leading to the 2022 war in Ukraine. Tensions between the east and west of Ukraine were exacerbated in 2014 when Kremlin-backed forces occupied the Crimean peninsula and separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk established self-proclaimed people’s republics, a status not officially recognized by most of the international community.

Tensions continued and, in April 2021, Russia began increasing their military forces on Ukraine’s borders. In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin laid out a set of security demands, including that Ukraine be permanently barred from joining NATO, and the already volatile situation intensified. On 21 February, President Putin formally recognized the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR). Three days later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A decapitated statue of Lenin stands in Cheminots Park, Kotovsk, Ukraine, on 19 December 2013. The statue was destroyed by ultra-nationalists on the night of 8–9 December.