A photographer documented the lives of soldiers on the Ukrainian front lines. Her photos show makeshift gyms surrounded by rubble and children's drawings on the walls.

Marielle DescalsotaFeb 11, 2022, 17:31 IST

A Ukrainian soldier walks in an underground trench on February 9, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

Photographer Gaelle Girbes went inside the Ukrainian frontlines to photograph the lives of soldiers.
Ukraine has been engaged in an eight-year-long conflict with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region.

While news that Russia is mobilizing 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border brought a recent wave of attention to the brewing war between the two nations, conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region has been ongoing for eight years.

Ukrainian army press officer Alena, 32, looks over the ruins of the town school on February 9, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

While news that Russia is mobilizing 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border brought a recent wave of attention to the brewing war between the two nations, conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region has been ongoing for eight years.

French photographer Gaelle Girbes recently headed to Donbas for a photo assignment. When Insider contacted her for comment on this story, she said she didn't have time for a phone call because she was about to head back into the trenches for more photo work.

A soldier trains in a gym built by soldiers in ruins on a military position around the town of Avdiyivka on February 8, 2022 in Avdiyivka, Ukraine. Servicemen of the 25th Airborne brigade of the Ukrainian army stationed in the trenches around the city of Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, Donbass.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

French photographer Gaelle Girbes recently headed to Donbas for a photo assignment. When Insider contacted her for comment on this story, she said she didn't have time for a phone call because she was about to head back into the trenches for more photo work.

"The living conditions are very harsh and unhealthy," Girbes said of the trenches. "[Life] is really hard. No one can come mentally intact from a 10-month rotation there," she added.

Denys, 39 years-old, soldier in the 25th Airborne Brigade of Ukrainian army, cooks a bortsch inside a bunker on February 8, 2022 in Avdiyivka, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

"The living conditions are very harsh and unhealthy," Girbes said of the trenches. "[Life] is really hard. No one can come mentally intact from a 10-month rotation there," she added.

Girbes offered a bleak outlook on what she saw, describing the city of Pisky as a "ruinous field." "Everything is destroyed, and it's full of mines," she added.

Vitaly, 25, takes coffee in a trench and talks about daily life on February 9, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

One of Girbes' photos from her time in Donbas shows children's drawings lining the tunnels and trench walls.

Alena, 32, a press officer in the Ukrainian army, takes a break in the soldiers lunch room on February 9, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

The trenches are shelled almost every night, but soldiers have adjusted to this reality, per Foreign Policy.

Ukrainian soldiers live mainly in basements and ruins when not in bunkers dug in the mud of the trenches on February 9, 2022 in Pisky, Ukraine.Gaelle Girbes/Stringer/Getty Images

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A photographer documented the lives of soldiers on the Ukrainian front lines. Her photos show makeshift gyms surrounded by rubble and children's drawings on the walls.

While news that Russia is mobilizing 100,000 troops on the Ukraine border brought a recent wave of attention to the brewing war between the two nations, conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region has been ongoing for eight years.

French photographer Gaelle Girbes recently headed to Donbas for a photo assignment. When Insider contacted her for comment on this story, she said she didn't have time for a phone call because she was about to head back into the trenches for more photo work.

"The living conditions are very harsh and unhealthy," Girbes said of the trenches. "[Life] is really hard. No one can come mentally intact from a 10-month rotation there," she added.

Girbes offered a bleak outlook on what she saw, describing the city of Pisky as a "ruinous field." "Everything is destroyed, and it's full of mines," she added.

One of Girbes' photos from her time in Donbas shows children's drawings lining the tunnels and trench walls.

The trenches are shelled almost every night, but soldiers have adjusted to this reality, per Foreign Policy.