Oleksandr Rupeta

Stages of Air is a 2025 photo series that explores life along the front line of the Russo-Ukrainian War. It focuses on Donbas, a region partially occupied by Russia and the site of some of the war’s bloodiest battles.

The Donbas landscape near the front line radiates tranquility. It would be easy to succumb to its lulling beauty—if not for the constant echoes of aerial bomb explosions, drone strikes, and artillery fire. Sometimes, the blasts are so close you can feel the ground shake; other times, you hear the whistle of a ricocheting bullet nearby.

This series is an attempt to process the experience of being near the front line, where, even after four years of war, the mind struggles to accept its reality. At times, it feels more like a nightmare one might eventually wake from.

Website https://www.rupeta.com/

Soldiers come under attack by enemy drones

Arsen (16), an internally displaced person from occupied Bakhmut

Soldiers participate in endurance tests near the front line

A soldier who fell to the ground

Medical aid post on the front line

Fortification construction along the front line

Portrait of a paratrooper awarded for bravery

A search team collects the remains of unidentified soldiers

The graves of monks killed in the Russian bombing

A dog stands in front of a mine dump

Soldiers come under attack by enemy drones

Arsen (16), an internally displaced person from occupied Bakhmut

Soldiers participate in endurance tests near the front line

A soldier who fell to the ground

Medical aid post on the front line

Fortification construction along the front line

Portrait of a paratrooper awarded for bravery

A search team collects the remains of unidentified soldiers

The graves of monks killed in the Russian bombing

A dog stands in front of a mine dump