to show the world russian crimes, american photographer patrick paterson in june 2022 visited ukraine the first time and decided that my experience in ukraine from small villages to the carpathians was simply wonderful, but it was also one of the worst experiences i had not seeing what the russians did to the ukrainians. rockets were exploding over my house. drones exploded outside my window, neighbors died from drone attacks. i can still smell it in raisin. the sound of rain still reminds me of rain falling on body bags. patrick lived in kyiv, but constantly traveled to chernihiv oblast, kharkiv oblast, kherson oblast, and mykolaiv oblast. he attended ukrainian. after the occupation, the tai of the village photographed mass burials and recorded stories of human grief. i carry these stories with me and feel such a deep obligation to share them. these are real people with real feelings. tell people in the west that ukrainians are not surprised by this, considering the famine and the eternal attitude of the russians. i want people to know. that ukraine is much more than a country at war