Seeing Ukraine for What It Is — and What It Can Be
Interview with Niels Ackermann
Photographer
What first drew you to Ukraine — and how did that initial curiosity evolve into something deeper?
Design first drew me to Ukraine. Before becoming a photographer, I loved graphic design, architecture, and typography. As a teenager, I watched videos of the Soviet world, fascinated by its strange, monolithic architecture — a world I didn’t know but imagined vividly.
In 2009, I came to see my stereotypical vision of Ukraine as a post-Soviet country, but I found something entirely different.
In the West, people often think they can understand Eastern Europe through Russia and generalize the rest. But I discovered a country I fell in love with — not for its Soviet past, but for what it offers now and in the future. After several reportages in cities like Kyiv, Donetsk, and Sebastopol, a year in Africa made me nostalgic for Ukraine. A project in Slavutych led me to settle in Kyiv with the woman who is now my wife.
I was really motivated by the desire to show not only bad news but also the innovative facet of Ukraine — a country that does not fit within our usual stereotypes.
A country where innovation is so high, where reforms are taking place. It’s not always perfect and successful, but the trend is generally good and worth documenting.
