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Before-and-after photos show Ukraine's swift restoration of Bucha, once a byword for the horrors of Russian occupation

By Ellie Zolfagharifard
A composite image showing Bucha in March 2022, at the height of the Russian invasion, on the left, and the same spots in Bucha on the right in May 2023.
A composite image showing Bucha in March 2022, at the height of the Russian invasion, on the left, and the same spots in Bucha on the right in May 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider
  • More than a year has passed since Russian troops invaded the town of Bucha in Ukraine. 
  • Serhiy Nuzhnenko was one of the first photojournalists to enter Bucha in the midst of the invasion.
  • His before-and-after images show its striking restoration and the resilience of its residents.

RFE/RL's Serhiy Nuzhnenko was one of the first photojournalists to enter the town of Bucha after Russian troops rolled in — and came back the year after to see it transformed.

A main street in Bucha photographed on March 1, 2022, during a pause in fighting, and then again more than a year later May 2023
A main street in Bucha photographed on March 1, 2022, during a pause in fighting, and then again more than a year later in May 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

He returned to take photographs of the exact same sites where he had captured the horrors of the war a year earlier. 

City officials said more than 450 bodies of civilians were recovered from the Bucha after Russia's invasion, according to Politico. 

He spoke to residents Natalya and Rustem, who said they hid in the basement of their home as battles raged outside.

Bucha residents Natalya and Rustem on March 1, 2022. Natalya and Rustem photographed as their property was in the process of being rebuilt in February 2023.
The top image shows Bucha residents Natalya and Rustem on March 1, 2022. Below, the pair pose in front of their property in February 2023, which was in the process of being rebuilt. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

"We thought we were in a safe zone, but you can see how it turned out," the couple told RFE/RL.

The photos appeared to show their cat doing significantly better as well.

Russian forces took control of Bucha by 5 March 2022, and remained there until 30 March.

A Bucha resident stands in the courtyard of a charred apartment block on March 1, 2022. The same courtyard is shown restored in February 2023.
On the left, a Bucha resident stands in the courtyard of a charred apartment block on March 1, 2022. The same building is shown on the right in February 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

Shortly after its liberation, foreign journalists who had arrived in Bucha described scenes of horror. One British paramedic said he saw corpses hanging from trees. 

"I don't even want to talk about it after the shit we've seen. It was awful. Let's put it this way; I've seen some of the photos the press has put out — if you think that's bad, times that probably by ten. And then times it again," he told inews. 

Bucha resident Olha said the scene outside her house in March 2022 was 'like some kind of Armageddon.'

Buca resident Olha walks in front of an armored vehicle in March 2022. The bottom image shows Olha in May 2023 standing in the same spot she was pictured a year earlier.
Bucha resident Olha walks in front of an armored vehicle in March 2022. The bottom image shows Olha in May 2023 standing in the same spot. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

"When my father built our house, he made a basement underneath and told us, 'If anything happens, this is your bomb shelter,'" Olha told RFE/RL.

"When [the invasion] happened we looked outside and saw tanks already in our yard shooting. We rushed to that basement and sat tight for seven hours."

"We had already said goodbye to life.... Then we came out and saw this terrifying picture."

The later picture showed the wreckage gone and her neighborhood restored.

Residents lived in fear of death, torture and rape. The top image shows wreckage on Bucha's Vokzalna Street. Below, is the same street in May 2023.

The top image shows wreckage on Bucha's Vokzalna Street. Below, is the same street photographed in May 2023.
The top image shows wreckage on Bucha's Vokzalna Street. Below, is the same street photographed in May 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

"Luckily, the Russian did not come into our house," one resident told Insider's Erin Trieb last year of her experience.

"Who knows what's in their heads… even rape… My daughter put her hoodie over her head to make herself look like a boy, so they wouldn't see that girls are here." 

A second pair of images from the same street show a striking change.

A bus stop is shown among devastation on Vokzalna Street on March 1, 2022 in the top image. The bottom image shows the Vokzalna Street bus stop in May 2023.
A bus stop is shown among devastation on Vokzalna Street on March 1, 2022 in the top image. The bottom image shows the same bus stop in May 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

Vokzalna Street became the focus of global attention last year after Ukrainian troops staged an ambush on a column of Russian armored vehicles.

Many homes were destroyed as a result, but work has recently begun to rebuild the street and the lives of the people there. 

 

We are still learning the scale of the what Russia did in Bucha.

A charred Bucha apartment building in March 2022 is shown in the top image. Below, the same building in May 2023.
A charred Bucha apartment building in March 2022 is shown in the top image. Below, the same building in May 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

According to the OHCHR, some civilians in Bucha were "killed on the spot" and others were detained weeks before being executed. 

In one village, 18 mutilated bodies of men, women and children were reportedly found.

Bucha's reconstruction efforts are giving hope to Ukrainians.

The top image shows destroyed Russian military hardware photographed on Vokzalna Street on March 1, 2022. Below is a photo of a rebuilt house in the exact same spot a year later.
The top image shows destroyed Russian military hardware on Vokzalna Street on March 1, 2022. Below is a photo of a rebuilt house in the same spot a year later. Serhiy Nuzhnenko/RadioSvoboda.org/RFE/RL/Insider

But there's a long way to go. Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery needs have reached $411 billion, according to the World Bank.

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