Dean O'Brien

ALMOST 10 years ago I took my first trip to Ukraine. Looking back it was to change my life forever. Anybody who has been will tell you it’s a complex country. There were so many issues that I wanted to document.

I was studying Photography at Coventry University, where I gained a First Class BA (Hons) degree. Most of my projects at university were based around social issues, ranging from the growth in marriage agencies to the ongoing de-Communisation.

Completing these projects gave me a wealth of experience and a huge insight into the country. Then, when the war started in 2014, everything changed. I started to notice how the war seemed to be covered from only one side, the Ukrainian side.

I couldn’t understand why this was not being covered from the pro-Russian side also to give it some balance. Not because I’m pro-Russian, but as an independent photojournalist I want to know the facts.  I’ve been there through controversial elections, bloody protests, Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and the civil war in Donbass.

Earlier this year I travelled to Donetsk People’s Republic. I travelled there because I wanted to see for myself what was happening in Donbass. I found it hard to believe that this conflict is happening in mainland Europe and is not being covered by Western media. In fact, many people in the West don’t know that the war is still going on as it’s never on the news.

It opened my eyes. I visited people living in shelled houses and witnessed residential areas being bombed. I spoke to everyone that I could from children on the street to soldiers on the frontline, and everyone else in- between.

I’m one of a handful of Western photojournalists who have been allowed into Donbass to report on what is happening from ‘the other side’. The reports coming from eastern Ukraine need to be objective, but they’re not, and that’s the problem. Very few people in the West are offering a voice to those people in Donbass. I want to change that.

When the news is reported, it’s often from Western reporters based in Kiev, miles away from the action and it’s biased. To fully understand this conflict there has to be a fair balance of reportage. So that’s where I come in.

I am totally independent and do not work for any organisation.  What I want to do is produce a book of images from Donbass. A visual record of what’s happening. Very much like many people prefer a vinyl record compared to a download I want to produce a real artifact, a physical record of what’s happening.

For the past ten years, I’ve financed my own trips and covered all costs, but now it’s time to reach out to my supporters. That’s where you come in.

I'm asking for your support. I need your help so that I can continue to do what I do. By becoming a supporter on here, you’re not only helping me to continue my work in Donbass but you’re also making a huge statement by supporting independent photojournalism.