POY 82 Portrait
A single photograph that reflects a strong sense of a person’s identity or narrative. Respect for the dignity of the person is important.
Finalist: The Price of War
Zakhar Biryukov (36), a Ukrainian Special Forces veteran, sits with his son Yehor at Lviv's Superhumans rehabilitation center. Biryukov was critically injured during a devastating helicopter explosion in Donbas, where he lost both arms, one eye, right leg, and partial hearing. The Russian invasion has inflicted enormous human casualties. Around 1 million Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded since the invasion began in 2022. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has confirmed that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and around 370,000 wounded. Many have complex fractures, shrapnel injuries, and open wounds from explosions and gunshots.
