Federico Quintana

Donetsk Oblast, October 2024 - The volunteer search group “Platsdarm” was founded in 2012. Its original mission was to identify unburied remains of soldiers from the First and Second World Wars.

Since 2014, they have been in search of the remains of victims from the current war. It’s a highly dangerous job.

The search takes place in the grey zone, close the line of fire and it is contaminated with mines, explosives and traps. It is not rare that they receive enemy fire while in the field.

Since 2018, the team has lost six of its members, KIA while carrying out their work.

The remains found are carefully described and photographed. They are then placed in special bags and taken to the morgue. The Russian bodies are later exchanged by the Ukraine Armed Forces for fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Russian hands.

This report was done in collaboration with my colleague journalist Lesya Kharchenko. It is part of a full story about the work and lives of this incredible team and their profound belief in the importance of respecting life and death in the war zone at the high risk of their own lives.

It is still work in progress as this story unravels in deeper aspects of human value.

WARNING: Sensitive and graphic content.

The full reportage is available upon request.

Kramatorsk oblast, October 2024 - This series is from my last day in this area after a long week working on two stories related to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
These images were taken between Kramatorsk and Konstyantynivka
and clearly reminded me that the war is everywhere in this region and not only on the nearby frontlines from where I had just returned.
In my last morning, I went to visit the destroyed hotel Saffir, where I had so often stayed prior to the targeted Russian attack that killed Reuters security agent Ryan Evans and seriously injured two journalist colleagues two months ago, leaving me sad and speechless.
Shortly after, several explosions were heard and a major impact from an aerial gliding bomb struck a barn near the city center, shacking the windows of my favorite coffee shop.
An hour later I met radical soldiers on custom bikes ready to make incursions in the city of Torets’k, where the enemy drones and intense fighting create difficulties for military vehicles to reach their defensive positions.
The Ukrainian custom built bikes are small and fast enough to evade the FPV drone attacks and are yet another example of bravery and ingenious ways to resist the relentless Russian offensive in every possible way.press

Kyiv oblast, June 25 2023 - Dnipro river north western banks. On this day last year in the outskirts of the capital. Not only war in Ukraine. .press - -