The Beauty of Ukraine

“A book of photographs taken before February 2022 reveals formerly breathtaking landscapes that may never be the same.” — The New York Times

“An illustrated ode to their home, it showcases the beauty and vulnerability of Ukraine beyond the daily horrors and photographs of war.” — Image (Ireland)

“The book is an illustrated love letter to their homeland, created in the darkest of times…” —  Amateur Photography

“Facing the most adverse circumstances, they [photographer Yevhen Samuchenko and writer Lucia Bondar] unite to reveal a vision of Ukraine few people know…” — Food & Travel
On 24 February 2022, the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops began. Since then, Russia’s war of aggression has continued with increasing ferocity and destruction. Millions of Ukrainians have fled to neighbouring European countries. Ukraine is now a country caught between two stools: on the one hand, it is striving for rapprochement with NATO and the EU; on the other hand, good relations with Russia have also always been of fundamental importance to the country.

This is a picture book about a landscape and its country, which is going through dark times and is currently moving the whole world. Here we take a look at the beauty and the integrity of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian landscape is characterised by steppes, plateaus, lowlands and mountains. The Lemurian Lake in the south of Ukraine impresses with its pink colour, as it has a higher salt content than the Dead Sea. The mountain ranges of the Carpathians in the west of Ukraine captivate with their wonderful wild beauty. The Ukrainian steppe is part of the great Eurasian steppe, which runs through several countries of Eastern Europe and used to be the home of the Cossacks. The country is also criss-crossed by numerous river courses, with the Dnieper, Donets and Dniester rivers, which flow into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, being among the most significant.

Unparalleled scale, out-of-this-world colours and unique landscape shots from above make this book a tribute to the beauty of the Ukrainian landscape.

Text in English, German and Ukrainian.