THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
War Through A Photo Lens is the name of the first photo exhibition by Roman Chop (call sign Photographer), a press officer on the Bakhmut Axis. The exposition, held with the assistance of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), was opened on December 6, the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
The 31 photos presented at the exhibition are unique historical shots taken at an incredible risk. The photo shows the heroic work of the Ukrainian military in the combat zone, those who defend our country at the front.
Roman Chop worked as a freelance photojournalist, shooting for the Associated Press. His photo works can be seen in many well-known world media, on the Facebook page of the President of Ukraine, the General Staff, the official resources of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the Ground Forces, and others. His professional portfolio includes tens of thousands of photographs, some of which have already been published, some of which are still kept in the photographer’s archive for security reasons.
As Roman Chop noted, the world needs to see that Ukraine and Ukrainians are fighting and that russia is committing crimes against the civilian population, which is happening in the war zone.
This is Roman‘s first personal photo exhibition. The photographer himself went to the front lines the day before. So, he recorded a video message for fellow media people who came to the presentation.
“We met Roman for the first time in March 2023. He came to our Journalists’ Solidarity Center for a meeting with the President of the NUJU, Sergiy Tomilenko. Back then, Sergiy Tomilenko handed a camera over to Roman,” recalled Oleksii Kovalchuk, the board chairperson of the Dnipropetrovsk regional organization of the NUJU. “And recently, a car purchased for journalists’ donations was handed over to the Soledar press group.”
“The camera from the National Union of Journalists traveled with me along the entire line of responsibility of our group. We can say that it has already become a combatant as it filmed in the city of Bakhmut, worked near Toretsk, Niu York, on the Lyman and Soledar Axes,” said the photographer.
In the photos selected for the exhibition, you can see the combat operation of the Grad-1 MLRS, the firing of the German Leopards, and how Ukrainian artillerymen are fighting using the Bohdan 155-mm 2S22 self-propelled artillery system, and the first seconds after the 122-mm D-30 guns and an armored infantry fighting vehicle…
“Indeed, such historical events as we have today reveal the unity of journalists. There will always be those who have a desire to tell the truth, and this is extremely important. I congratulate Roman! In my opinion, this is such a multidimensional exhibition that captures a person at war. It is through the person at the front that the truth of this war of russia against Ukraine, our state, independence, and nation emerge,” says journalist Valentyna Orlova from Dnipro sharing her impressions.
On the Telegram channel called War Chronicles, where Roman Chop posts his photographs, he wrote: “War is difficult to convey through a lens, but I will try….” And he does succeed!
Congratulations to my colleague on the opening of the photo exhibition! We wish more victorious personnel of our Armed Forces, released from the russian occupation of Ukrainian settlements, raising the state flag over the de-occupied Ukrainian cities.
The exhibition is held at the Dnipro regional organization of the NUJU.
Photo by Viktor Kachanov
Dnipro JSC Information Service
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