Violence by Russian forces poses a significant threat to queer Ukrainians, as research and reports show. Marginalized perspectives, especially from the LGBTQI+ community, are often overshadowed in conflict. Since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, political reforms initiated by Euromaidan have been tested. Reports of war crimes against LGBTQI+ people persist.

In 2022 Ambrosio began travelling to Ukraine to document queer lives. Her photo book ‘Fragile as Glass’, published in 2024, shares personal stories of five queer people through photography, interviews and journalist Yana Radchenko’s text Beyond Pain. Radchenko fled her hometown to escape Russian troops.

Beyond the book, Ambrosio investigated war crimes against the LGBTQI+ community and met survivors. She visited occupied territories and joined pride marches in Kharkiv, working with prosecutors to hold perpetrators accountable. Her ongoing project highlights LGBTQI+ resilience and vital narratives in conflict.

Artist Bio:

Sitara Thalia Ambrosio was born in 2002 in Fürth, Germany. She is a photojournalist based in Hanover and Kyiv. Ambrosio developed her visual language through hands-on experience, concentrating on underrepresented conflicts, gender issues, migration and human rights in the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

Her award-winning practice includes giving lectures and leading workshops for young people. She received the Grimme Online Award for ‘Kandvala’ in 2022. In 2023 she won the Portraits Hellerau Photography Award for ‘Fragile as Glass’, a book co-created with the journalist Yana Radchenko. Ambrosio is represented by Laif.