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Chad Small photo

Chad Small

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Firefighters extinguish a fire after a Russian bomb explosion in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, on Sept. 17, 2024.

How 3 years of war have ravaged Ukraine’s forests, and the people who depend on them

by Chad Small
Editor's note: This story was published in conjunction with Grist. Twenty-two-year-old software developer Artem Motorniuk has spent his entire life in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, living in the north and visiting his grandparents in the south. It’s been almost four years since he’s seen them in person. "My grandparents right now are under occupation," he says. "We can reach them once a month on the phone." Motorniuk and his family’s story is a common one in eastern Ukraine. Since Russi