Gaëlle Girbes

Winner of the 2024 Pierre & Alexandra Boulat Award

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, many villages and towns have been wiped from the map. According to a February 2025 report by the World Bank, the Ukrainian government, the European Commission and the United Nations, almost 30% of the Ukrainian territory is severely damaged and mined. Ukraine’s Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories has recorded 4.6 million people who have lost their homes. With the war still raging, some Ukrainian citizens, who have nowhere else to go, are trying to survive amidst the ruins, and some are even using them to rebuild their homes.