Nearly four years after the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian people continue to face the hardships and disruptions brought about by a conflict whose prolonged duration wears down both spirit and strength with extraordinary resilience and courage. Yet the weight of the immensity of this extended tragedy can be seen and should be seen. Caught fleetingly in the glances of people on the street, in offices, on the metro, in the tempo of daily life, Ukraine has not lost its ability to live alongside what has come to feel like the war’s constant, everyday presence. The population strives to lead a “normal” life in the midst of a world where life is anything but normal: daily existence punctuated by night-time air-raid sirens and phone alerts sounding in unison, by the near-constant background hum of emergency generators of every shape and size have become an integral part of the urban landscape. Where absent, one grows accustomed to the darkness of blackouts. One becomes accustomed to everything, finding time and again ways to circumvent obstacles and live with them. And even if the end of the war still feels elusive, life goes on nonetheless, drawing from within not only the strength to endure and to fight, but also the strength to smile, even where it seems most impossible to do so, as in the gaze, sometimes scarred by explosions, of veterans who have lost legs or arms, sometimes both. What emerges, is the image of a country that is weary and deeply tested, yet still determined. A country that, beyond all patriotic rhetoric, continues to seek its strength in the spirit of each of its citizens, and in their desire to go on living, an essential trait of human nature, despite the countless losses and a horizon that still seems distant, shrouded in the darkness of a fifth winter now close at hand. CAPTIONS 01_Evdokim Serdyuk (24) at the rehabilitation center where he works. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. "My name is Evdokim Serdyuk. I am 24 years old and from the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region. For me, the war began in 2014 when I was 12. In 2022, at the age of 20, a large-scale war broke out, and on March 1, 2022, I enlisted as a volunteer. I served in the 56th Separate Motorized Brigade of Mariupol, fighting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Bakhmut. On June 3, 2023, during a combat mission, I was injured when a Russian 'Lancet 3' drone exploded under my feet, carrying a 3-kilogram TNT charge. This led to amputation, seven months of treatment and rehabilitation. After recovery, I returned home to the Donbass, but in autumn 2024 I had to leave as Russian occupiers began taking over our cities and villages. I am now fully recovered, living in Kyiv and working as a prosthetic walking instructor at a rehabilitation center." 02_Pianist of a jazz band during a concert at Jazz Club 32. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 03_Ballet dancers at a private dance school. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 04_View of one of the rooms of an air raid shelter in the basement of a hotel in central Kyiv. December 2025. 05_Evening view of a street in central Kyiv, almost completely dark during the blackout. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 06_Passengers in the subway during a working day. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 07_Diesel generator in the inner courtyard of a private residential building in central Kyiv. December 2025. 08_Students in class at the College of Communication, a high school in central Kyiv. December 2025. 09_Detail of the Maidan memorial in central Kyiv, where thousands of photographs of fallen soldiers are collected. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 10_A father walks with his son on the square in front of St. Michael’s Monastery, where a memorial with a permanent exhibition of military equipment has been created. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 11_Sergey Novikov (39) at the rehabilitation center where he is currently undergoing therapy and prosthetic fitting. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. "My name is Sergey Novikov. I am 39 years old and live in Kharkiv region. I enlisted in 2022. I served in Donetsk, first in special forces, then in infantry. In 2024, I took a course to become an FPV drone operator. In January 2025, during a combat mission, I sustained severe injuries with amputation of both arms and the left leg. I am currently recovering and undergoing prosthetic fitting at a rehabilitation center. After rehabilitation, I plan to return to my favorite activity, beekeeping." 12_Detail of the memorial on the lawn of St. Andrew’s Church in Bucha, built in memory of the 2022 massacre. Mass graves were found on the lawn, from which bodies were later exhumed, identified, and buried in the local cemetery. 13_Boxing training with participants of all ages in a private gym in central Kyiv. December 2025. 14_Depiction of the David and Goliath myth with scenes of Ukrainian army combat, printed on a construction fence in front of a building hit by a Russian attack, near Lukianivska metro station. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025. 15_Digital billboard on a city building, showing a perfume advertisement with the inscription ‘La vie est belle’ in white cursive. Kyiv, Ukraine. December 2025.