PRISTINA -- For American photojournalist Brendan Hoffman, the parallels between what happened during the Kosovo War and what is happening in Ukraine serve as an inflection point in his work.
"It was important for me to learn about the parallels, what this country went through 25 years ago and what is happening now in Ukraine. To see Kosovo as an independent, peaceful state, gives me a lot of hope for the future for Ukraine," he said.
One of Hoffman's photographs is featured in Ukraine: A War Crime, a new exhibition that features the works of 93 international photojournalists that capture the chaotic first days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The exhibition and book of the same name, organized by FotoEvidence and funded by Open Society Foundations -- Western Balkans, are presently on display in Pristina's Grand Hotel and will subsequently visit Skopje, Belgrade, and Sofia.
After learning of the invasion, Hoffman, who had been living in Kyiv since 2013, made the decision to leave the city with his six-month pregnant wife. Along the way, they stopped at one of the points where the Ukrainian Army was giving out weapons to those who wanted to stay and fight.
"We saw a list on the Internet of various places around the country where the military was issuing weapons to any man of military-service age who wanted to resist Russian occupation. So we just picked one that was in the direction we were already going. We stopped, and surprisingly, they actually let us come in to take photographs."
Hoffman's work regularly appears in The New York Times. He returned to Kyiv with his family following the birth of his son in Poland.
"Personally and professionally, it's important to me to be out there and continue to document," he said.
The show's Bulgarian curator, Svetlana Bachevanova, a photojournalist who covered the Kosovo War in 1998–99, sees the collection of images as historical documents that portray crimes against humanity.
"They are evidence. So, many of the works [featured] are war crimes. The idea was to collect them and publish them so that no one could deny them, as has happened many times," she said.
"Kosovo does not have a book documenting what happened. Many war crimes are not investigated, many issues are not resolved, and there is no evidence," she said before adding: "People say history is written by winners. I would say that sometimes brave publishers, too."
The location of the exhibition, according to Lura Limani of the Open Society Foundations, is also meaningful. In addition to housing foreign journalists covering the Kosovo War of 1998–99, the hotel "was also a base for [Serbian] paramilitary troops who allegedly tortured Albanian civilians."
After the invasion started, Kosovo followed the lead of the United States and the European Union by imposing sanctions on Russia and welcoming Ukrainians who fled. Among them is Lyudmila Makey, whose photos are on display as well.
"When I look at these pictures, I get very worried. I remember the first day of the invasion. It was the most terrible day of my life," she said.
Makey's daughter, who was in Germany at the start of the war, later returned to Ukraine and currently lives in Kyiv.
"Everyday she writes, 'Mom, I'm alive.' She stays in the basement for two to three hours every day because of shelling and bombing, " Makey said before adding: "My dream is for this war to end as soon as possible. This is my dream. We have to win. We must reap victories, this is important."
With the war in its third year, Hoffman says that the determination and strength of the Ukrainian people and their ability to withstand the Russian occupation continue to inspire him.
"They don't think it's going to happen soon, but they know they're on the right side of the fight."
The exhibition, Ukraine: A War Crime, will run through May 17 at the Grand Hotel in Pristina before it moves to Skopje, Belgrade and Sofia.
