Press photographer of the Los Angeles Times Sergei Loiko, received the prestigious American prize for reporting about the war in Ukraine, told about how he worked under fire in Donetsk airport, and that the left overs of military photography.

Almost a year ago began fighting for the Donetsk airport between Ukrainian military and the militants “DNR”. For the fortitude and courage of the Ukrainian military was called cyborgs. They held the destroyed building of the airport is 242 days.

The Los Angeles Times photojournalist Sergey Loyko – the only journalist who managed to spend at the airport a few days. For his reporting from the hottest point of the Eastern Ukraine in late April, the photographer has won a prestigious American award – The Bob Considine Award, which is awarded for the best coverage of international events. Loyko has told to the correspondent "ГОРДОН" about the photos, which has become especially expensive about the defenders of the airport, their stories left overs reporter shooting.

– I recently met this guy at the exhibition in Kharkov. In civilian clothes Sergei looked quite different, as at the airport. In life he was very young, a kind of good and funny goof. And the photo captured at the Donetsk airport is almost 40-year-old soldier with the eyes of a man who saw everything. He was resting after the battle. In his opinion the war that never ends, sacrifice, detachment, a samurai readiness for death. Don't want someone like that in his life experienced. His helmet seemed to me at that moment, quite old, Soviet, almost during the Second world war. And the photo turned out to be untimely, as if from the past.

The next day, the bullet of 7.62 mm fired from a sniper rifle, hit Sergei right above the eyebrow. Literally one centimetre separated him from death. It turned out this is a good helmet, which although looked like an old Soviet, but was modern and durable.

From hitting Sergey flew five meters, ears bled. He pulled off his helmet and began to palpate the head. He thought he was killed by that bullet in his head. The bullet stuck in the helmet, and the blood flowed because of small fragmented pieces of plastic stuck in his head.

Only after a few minutes, Sergei began to hear friends who asked about health. He said that he suddenly felt the fire in my head and a terrible noise, everything around us was burning. He stopped to feel the face, and heard only the smell of blood.

The helmet saved his life.

"Helmet". Photo: Sergei Loiko

This photo reminds me of another episode of the war that happened with a young Ukrainian soldier Yura. He first went to watch the spotter of fire. Usually on patrol take a light weapon, and he outfitted the Kalashnikov machine gun. And for some reason decided to remove with his hands signaling the bandage to determine “friend or foe”.

Was the fog. Yura was lying very close to the positions of the separatists. Some times they just come in fire, and, knowing that somewhere nearby spotter, they began a search.

Ukrainian fighter saw a young man dressed in an ordinary soldier's uniform. You can't shoot – fighters will hear. When the separatist was five meters away, Yura said, “What are you doing? I lie in ambush, and you're ghostin ' my position! Go the fuck out of here!“ He said he was looking for a spotter and got lost in the fog and doesn't know where he was. Yura said, "Take my walkie-talkie. Call it in, bring you in". When the enemy approached, the Jura tore off his helmet and began to beat it this Russian guy in the face and head. Then he remembers nothing. When he came to, he saw that sitting with helmet in hand over the body of a Russian soldier with a disfigured head around the blood... He his helmet beat to death.

What a terrible crime was committed by those who started this war! People on opposing sides brought to a state of rage and confusion, close to madness that can commit such acts.

I hope Yura all goes well and there will be many happy moments in life. But what is appalling is that the most vivid memories will remain, as the helmet he killed a man.

Ivan saved my life in the Sands. In the morning I went into the garden. And I heard behind me someone running like crazy and yells: "stop, Stop!" We were not then familiar, he didn't know my name. Stopped me literally two feet away from stretch marks.

Then the battle began. His arm was in a sling, mouth – cigarette, around the mountain empty shell casings, he constantly firing machine gun self-made parapet, which was located in the middle of the street. Standing next to the tank.

Going on, I distinctly recalled photos of the Vietnam war. The American military, who have fought a year and a half, appeared renunciation and recklessness. Here was the same. Ivan allowed himself to smoke during the battle, he knew what he was doing...

After a few days during a mortar shelling of the Sand he died.

"This photo haunts me. Gunner Ivan in battle on the edge of the Sand. He helped me to stay alive. We joked, laughed. We were not going to die." Photo: Sergei Loiko

Then occurred one of the most horrific moments in my life. I published a photo of Ivan in Facebook. And wrote that the soldier, whom I have known, died yesterday. I get a lot of comments, and suddenly among them – “Not veeery!”. It was written by his wife, who received a death notice from my account in Facebook. I felt guilty in his death...

This was followed by a conversation with the master of photography USA, winner of many awards. And he asked why I have so little portraits (this was before the trip to the airport). I replied that for articles such photos are not needed. He said, “in Vain. This is war. You can take off the faces of the boys. Suddenly you kill someone. People will have the opportunity to look him in the eye”.

I quickly found a common language with all the cyborgs, they allowed themselves to be photographed. And this beautiful, beautiful, tall, broad-shouldered, lean blond with blue eyes said to me: “You don't shoot, uncle Sergei. I'm superstitious. My fiancee is. I want to go home”. And he only died then.

"Andrew asked not to photograph it. I shot it from the side and back to not hit the frame face. He's the one who then killed". Photo: Sergei Loiko

He was wounded by two bullets of 12.7 mm caliber fired from a machine gun “Utes”. From this shot Porechenkov. One bullet hit him in the thigh, the second one in the stomach. It happened in the old terminal. And to evacuate the wounded could only be from new. The APC did not come to the old – there is shelling from three sides, and therefore, high risk of loss of equipment and people. Then decided to evacuate on a stretcher. For this it was necessary to run a take-off field 150 meters. The band was a mangled shells space where lay the iron debris, weapons, broken appliances, here and there put stretch marks... And a couple of guys – they are true heroes so wanted to save Andrew, laid him on a stretcher and rushed on that dreadful field.

In my childhood several times dreamed this dream (now I understand why), if I run through the swamp, which is full of snakes. I understand: just stop for a second, I'll bite. Fear, lust for life, despair persecuted me forward, and I run on the balls of snakes with a terrible speed. This dream I forgot, but at the Donetsk airport on the airfield remembered. He went from the new terminal to the old and back again. I was walking at night, but it didn't make the hike less threat – fierce firing after dark continued. And guys, overcoming all obstacles, ran in the afternoon with a stretcher on which lay a large the wounded man. They were shot at...

Andrew took on the armored vehicle to the hospital. He died from blood loss on the operating table.

One of these cyborgs then told me: “I run with frightening speed, but it seems to me that barely move. I'm not what you hear and see every bullet flying in front of me, sideways, left, right”. And it is not fiction. At such moments so sharpened senses that the brain perceives what is happening, as in slow motion (slow motion).

– Inside destroyed the old terminal opponents were divided wall. In one part there were Ukrainian soldiers, the other enemies. The walls had many holes through which it was possible to see everything the enemy, shoot. Then the wall fell.

The entire floor is littered with debris and pieces of military action. A fighter with a Kalashnikov went through this room. He's not posed. He didn't even know that I was filming him. He jumped without looking through the obstacles, so interesting was trampled, as if dancing. And I, watching him, suddenly heard the music. Soldiers moved so beautifully, like I was dodging bullets, flew into the window, and the machine was an extension of his hands.

"Dance of death". Photo: Sergei Loiko

Wish I had this video. It lasted only a few moments. Then the soldier crossed the room, clung to what used to be the window, and started shooting...

I thought, what nonsense! Such a handsome guy. His talent in everyday life could be revealed in something else. He could well write, draw, sing. But he woke up talent “dance of death”, and his audience are bullets. Flying past, they, like me, saw this dance, enjoyed the sight and spare him.

– There was a terrible fire. At the window three cyborg. Around them in the walls and ceiling constantly beat the bullets. They fired at the attackers, who are about to go on the offensive. And I didn't even notice I was there. At this point the enemy has released a mine. The soldiers froze...

Mine flies one or two seconds. I, like they, have heard the growing sounds of the approaching projectile. This whistle filled the entire space and became everything in my life. He could be the last heard sound...

"Flight of the bumblebee". Photo: Sergei Loiko

Guys are petrified, couldn't move an inch, and tried to determine where she was going. When a mine exploded outside, they suddenly become busy to argue that if you can hear the audio, then the projectile will fly past. And then realized it and again opened fire on the enemy.

This photo reminds me of the painting of the artist Caravaggio. Such a dramatic pause. All three looks in one direction, and not fear, but hope, suspense, and youthful joy.

– Very rare moment and frame. The soldier was not wounded and not killed. He was just sleeping. And all around was a terrible battle. From the walls and ceiling were falling lumps, bullets penetrated the entire building. In this shot – the chaos and the incommensurability of what happened. All around, made of stone and iron, destroyed. And only one person of flesh and blood, asleep.

"To death four steps". Photo: Sergei Loiko

Donetsk airport cyborgs kept 242 days. It was impossible to defend. Than before I'd blow these buildings and the bandwidth, the faster would be gone from there, the more precious lives could have been saved.

This was the Ukrainian Stalingrad. The defenders of the airport decided that it depends on them the fate of the country. Their bravery was passed on to the commanders. It's an epic resistance. There, at the airport, in the truest sense of the word gathered the colors of the Ukrainian nation. Intelligent, solid, intelligent person who is clearly aware of what is and what you are doing.

– The field is a fighter. What? In his gait there is an element of detachment and confident of doom: I have no choice, only to defend the homeland. In the distance the sunset and smoke. Flowers sunflower turned away from the soldier.

Love that picture at the implication. It symbolizes that nature and life are natural things, and the war – no. Although humanity is constantly trying to prove itself otherwise. The history of the world consists of the dates of birth of all sorts of rulers and battles. We know when the battle of Grunwald, but know practically nothing about how back then people lived.

"Nature and the life of natural things, and the war – no. Although humanity always tries to prove itself wrong". Photo: Sergei Loiko

I was at the wars, where both sides spoke the Russian language. For example, in Chechnya. But the war in Ukraine is unique in that it is the worst mistake that could be allowed. This is a completely artificial war for which there was not a single cause.

Elena PASCANA