These Photos Show How Eastern Ukraine Is Stuck In Its Soviet Past

If you told Ukrainian photographer Valeriya Myronenko six months ago that Donbass, the region in eastern Ukraine where she grew up, would erupt in a war, she wouldn't believe you. Now, with conflict raging between Ukraine and multiple separatist movements, it has become apparent that the unthinkable has come true for Myronenko.

Myronenko, who now lives in Toronto, stayed with her family in Donbass for four months this past spring and summer and witnessed the region deteriorating firsthand, she tells Business Insider.

"All the conflict unraveled before my eyes," Myronenko says. "It was incredible to watch how fast things can go from civilization to something crazy and burned down."

At various points over the last year, Myronenko was in Donbass, photographing the local culture and people in an effort to "document a reality that I felt would soon disappear." Looking back, she now sees foreshadowing of the conflict in the photos of her neighbors and countrymen.

Myronenko shared photos from her project, called "Donbass I and II," with us here. You can see more at her website.