RFE/RL photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko was granted access to Ukrainian positions in the eastern city of Vuhledar. The town has been under near-constant attack from Russian forces since the beginning of the invasion.
In The Ruins Of Ukraine's Besieged City Of Vuhledar
At around 5 a.m. we set off toward Vuhledar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Steam from the Kurakhiv Thermal Power Plant drifts into the dawn sky as we drive.
The towers of the Vuhledar coal mine seen during the drive to the besieged town.
Driving in the gloom before sunrise minimizes the risk of being targeted by Russian kamikaze drones. Bomb-dropping quadcopters are also used on these eastern roads to target military equipment and sometimes even cars.
A soldier walks past ruined buildings in Vuhledar. The town was once home to around 14,000 people. Now, just a few hundred civilians -- and the Ukrainian military -- remain.
A damaged church in Vuhledar.
Residents remaining in the town rely on volunteers, and the Ukrainian military, to supply them with food and medicine.
The ruins of a building in Vuhledar. The town’s name means “gift of coal.”
Since March 2022, Russian forces have made repeated attempts to storm the town.
A child's bike in a rubble-strewn courtyard.
In January 2023, a massive Russian assault on Vuhledar reportedly collapsed with the loss of many tanks and armored vehicles and hundreds of Russian troops.
A Ukrainian soldier monitors Russian positions while piloting a drone from inside a building in Vuhledar. The town lies near a strategically crucial highway and railway line.
A burned-out apartment block.
Remaining residents of Vuhledar now survive mostly underground in basements that offer shelter from the splinters of shrapnel that frequently ricochet through the streets.
In the time we spend in the frontline town, a wide array of different projectiles can be heard flying into Vuhledar from Russian positions.
Almost no undamaged buildings remain in the town, which is shelled several times each day by the Russian military.
Remnants of a peaceful life seen through windows blown out by explosions.
The photos in this gallery were made in late September and published on October 12. The Ukrainian military often requires lengthy embargoes before images from military positions can be published.