Soldiers of the 78th Air Assault Regiment enter their positions through barbed wire in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)
Since June 2024, the 78th Air Assault Regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, together with other units, has been stationed in the Chornobyl exclusion zone, north of Kyiv.
The regiment has been part of the latest group of forces Ukraine transferred closer to the border with Belarus, following ongoing threats by the country's dictator Alexander Lukashenko, a principal ally of the Kremlin.
Before that, the regiment took part in grueling battles in Donetsk Oblast.
On Aug. 24, the regiment received intelligence that Belarus troops were planning an attack on the northern border in the direction of Kyiv, according to Pavlo, the regiment commander.
Subsequently, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry issued a statement that, according to intelligence, the Belarusian Armed Forces had concentrated personnel, artillery, equipment, tanks, and air defense in the bordering Homel region under the guise of exercises.
The offensive did not take place, but since then, Ukrainian forces at the border are on high alert.
The soldiers are currently equipping fortifications, continuing to set up minefields, patrolling the border and tracking down enemy reconnaissance groups.
The defense of this area is extremely difficult because it has a specific terrain - swamps, forests, areas contaminated with radiation.
Photojournalist Karina Piliuhina spent a few days with the regiment in late August and early September, joining the daily patrols near the border with Belarus.
A sign “Caution, radiation” in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 31, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) Checkpoint in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 31, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) Servicemen of the 78th Air Assault Regiment with the call signs Viking and Persian on a short break while patrolling the Ukrainian-Belarusian border in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)Scotch tape in the colors of the Ukrainian flag in the Chornobyl forest in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) Vadym, a soldier of the 78th Air Assault Regiment with the call sign Pers, near the Duga radar station in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)View from the observation post at a position in the Chornobyl forest in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) A serviceman of the 78th Air Assault Regiment looks from an observation post in the Chornobyl forest in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) A meeting of the 78th Air Assault Regiment at the command post in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 31, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent) An isolation structure over the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Aug. 31, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)A serviceman of the 78th Air Assault Regiment near a border post painted in the colors of the Belarusian flag in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)Radioactive "red" forest in Chornobyl zone, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 1, 2024. (Karina Piliuhina/ The Kyiv Independent)
Karina Piliuhina is a Ukrainian photographer, producer and reporter. She has been working in documentary filmmaking since 2018. Currently, the main topic she works with is the war in Ukraine, focusing on front line reporting.Read more
