Black Snow

Kherson covered with snow — an unusual sight. This year, the city’s empty streets were full of drifts, but the snow remained white only for a brief moment: constant shelling, drone strikes, and fires quickly laid a layer of black soot and dust on everything. Kherson’s black snow. The eerie silence of the city center is broken only by the intense fire of Ukrainian howitzers—like giant drums—and the echoes of the enemy’s retaliatory strikes.

The streets are empty, though occasionally a lone figure appears in the field of vision, only to vanish immediately like a shadow into the side streets and courtyards. Packs of stray dogs follow the footsteps of the pedestrians. Emaciated and starving, they roam the city in search of food and shelter. The constant strikes have made the dogs confused and skittish. The city will still have to deal with this issue. For now, the dogs gather around garbage dumps and trash cans. Occasionally someone feeds them, but this issue has not yet been addressed systematically; perhaps it is not the right time, as there are other, more serious problems. Among those who have remained in the city, there are many who need social assistance: retirees, people with disabilities, and the homeless. Their daily needs are met by social services and volunteers. One such service is the Social Taxi.

Stanislav Ostrous (1972) is a photographer, lecturer, photojournalist who works with documentary and art photography, primarily using analog technologies. Finalist of Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2025 (LOBA 2025), Heinrich Böll Scholarship in 2024. Shortlisted for PhotoCULT 2019. Participant in the main exhibition of the Batumi Photo Days festival (2016–2019) and the photo symposium in Nida (Lithuania). He teaches photography at Kharkiv State Academy of Culture (KSAC) and at the MYPH School of Conceptual and Art Photography. Currently lives and works in Kharkiv, Ukraine.