Ukrainian photographer creates stark graduation portraits in Chernihiv ruins

Students pose in front of a destroyed military vehicle for a high school graduation photoshoot, in Chernihiv, Ukraine, June 5, 2022. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose at a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Photographer Stanislav Senyk's photographs show students wearing graduation sashes while surrounded by debris, posing in heavily damaged buildings or...more

Senyk set out to document the story of the graduating classes of 2022 and depict the reality that schoolchildren face during the war in Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

He told Reuters that students had been heavily affected by the fighting, with their graduation and prom night not going ahead as planned. Instagram/@senykstas

Senyk, who has worked as a photographer for about five years, said the schoolchildren no longer showed shock about their decimated surroundings and had likely grown stronger from the experience. Instagram/@senykstas

His photographs show school students embracing next to mangled metal and posing on a tank as they don graduation sashes. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose on destroyed vehicles for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose in a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose outside a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose in front of a damaged window for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose among rubble outside a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose in a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose outside a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

A student poses in front of a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose in a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

A student poses next to a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose next to a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

A student poses in front of a damaged window for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

A student smokes a cigarette during a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose outside a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas

Students pose inside a damaged building for a high school graduation photoshoot in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Instagram/@senykstas