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Berlin has a large Russian population, and on May 9 many came out to celebrate and commemorate the 77th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. There are several large Soviet war memorials in Berlin that pay homage to the tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers, among them Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, who died in 1945 in the final push from the east to take Berlin. At the Treptower Park memorial Russians laid flowers at an event organized by the Russian Embassy, and at the Tiergarten memorial people came solemnly with portraits of relatives who fought in the war. Of course the current Russian war in Ukraine overshadowed the annual event. Police were on hand to prevent disruptions, though small arguments and altercations broke out anyway, some between Russians and Ukrainians, others apparently between fellow Russians who have different opinions on the Ukraine war. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #veday #victoryineurope #ww2 #worldwar2 #russia #berlin #photojournalism #war

In this view from a drone a field of rapeseed (also called canola) surrounds marshy depressions in Brandenburg state north of Berlin. Rapeseed is pressed and refined to make cooking oil. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #dronestagram #dji #djimavic2pro #djimavicpro2 #agriculture #canola #raps

Energy, energy, energy. We certainly can’t live without it, yet our need for it seems intertwined with destruction. Germany has long depended on coal for its energy production, and though the government has ambitious and accelerated goals for the country’s transition from fossil fuels to renewables, it won’t be able to phase out coal completely until 2030 at the earliest. In western Germany near Cologne there’s an open-cast coal mine called Garzweiler that supplies lignite coal to the nearby Neurath power plant that is the second biggest emitter of CO2 in Europe. The mine covers 31 square kilometers and produces about 35-40 million tons of coal a year. Villages have been razed and residents forcibly resettled since the outset. Today that process is continuing, with what’s left of the hamlets of Lützerath and Immerath to very likely disappear within the near future. Five more villages, including Keyenberg, are slated for demolition, though remaining residents are hopeful they will be spared after all. In Lützerath a lone farmer, Eckhardt Heukamp, was holding out, but finally moved out following a court decision a few weeks ago. Activists remain in a camp in Lützerath that includes tree houses and will likely put up a struggle against eviction. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #photojournalism #coal #energiewende #alledoerferbleiben #luetzerath #garzweiler #tagebau #coalmine #fossilfuels #globalwarming #climatechange #rwe #dji #instadrone #djimavic2pro #kohleausstieg #braunkohle

Today I had the privilege to attend the Orthodox Easter Sunday service at the Russian Orthodox St. George Monastery, where Abbot and Prior Daniil Irbits led local Russians and recently arrived Ukrainian refugees in celebration, in Goetschendorf near Berlin, Germany. Irbits and his team of monks, who are from countries across eastern Europe, have taken in and assisted several dozen Ukrainian refugees since Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February. "Today we prayed for peace and the people in Ukraine forced to celebrate Easter in bunkers," said Irbits. The outspoken support of Patriarch Kirill, leader in Moscow of the Russian Orthodox Church, of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war is at odds with many Russian Orthodox communities outside of Russia. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #photojournalism #religion #easter #orthodoxchurch #russianorthodox #russianorthodoxchurch #ukraine #warinukraine #refugees

In this aerial view the TotalEnergies Leuna oil refinery, which is owned by French energy company Total, stands illuminated at twilight on April 12, 2022 near Spergau, Germany. The Leuna refinery is connected to the Druzhba oil pipeline that transports oil from Russia to Germany. Due to the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, Total has announced it will seek as soon as possible to stop buying oil from Russia. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #photojournalism #dronestagram #dji #djimavic2pro #leuna #refinery #pipeline #oil #russia

Before the Russian military invasion of Ukraine the new German coalition government of Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats already had ambitious goals for a speedy energy transition towards renewables and away from fossil fuels and nuclear. But with the war now laying bare both the extent and risk of Germany’s energy reliance on Russia, the government is hoping to accelerate the transition even further. A major component of the transition is wind power. Yesterday I visited a wind farm that is undergoing major expansion near Angermünde, not far from Berlin. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #photojournalism #windpower #windturbine #windkraft #windkraftanlage #renewableenergy #energiewende #dji #dronestagram #djimavic2pro #djimavicpro2

Today I spent the afternoon at “Cafe Ukraine,” a venue where Ukrainian refugees in Berlin can meet, relax and find new friends. The cafe was launched by Natalia Kovalenko, a former business employee trainer who fled war-ravaged Mariupol, and childhood friend Olena Nominas, an aircraft engineer who fled Zaporizhzhia, with the help of Berlin charity Berliner Stadtmission in order to create a community venue for Berlin's growing expatriate Ukrainian population. The cafe, located in unheated rooms of a former East German office building near Alexanderplatz, opens once a week and provides activities for children, a hot lunch of borscht, music and ice breaking opportunities for adults. Tens of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the increasingly brutal Russian war in Ukraine have found refuge in Berlin. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #warinukraine #ukraine #ukrainiansinberlin #refugees #ukrainianrefugees #refugeeswelcome #photojournalism #hausderstatistik #cafeukraine #stadtmission #berlinerstadtmission

Today several thousand Ukrainians in Berlin, including many refugees, staged a very moving protest and commemoration of the many civilians killed in Ukraine. In particular they were protesting against the atrocities very likely committed by Russian troops near Kyiv, including in the town of Bucha. At one point everyone laid down for about 10 minutes, symbolizing the dead. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #warinukraine #photojournalism #berlin #ukrainiansinberlin #ukraine #refugees #refugeeswelcome #bucha

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at a former hotel in Berlin that is now a temporary home to approximately 300 refugees from Ukraine. Volunteers from two Berlin charities, including Unionhilfswerk, provide three meals a day and basic services, including guiding the refugees through the bureaucracy of receiving government assistance. Among the refugees are many children, some of whom are already attending local schools, while others receive German language instruction from a volunteer, Russian-speaking local teacher. One refugee I talked to, Larissa Shpadinska, fled her hometown near Kherson with her three children on the first day of the war. She left behind her husband, who is now fighting in a military unit against the Russians, as well as her sister, who is trapped in Kherson due to the Russian occupation of the city. Larissa said her children are emotionally traumatized from the Russian bombing. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #warinukraine #berlin #refugees #photojournalism #unionhilfswerk

Larissa Shpadinska scrolls through images from home on her phone as two of her three children Oksana, 9, and Kostya, 12, look on in their room at the former hotel that is now their temporary home on April 04, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Larissa said she fled her hometown located near Kherson in southern Ukraine with her three children the day the Russian military invaded on February 24. Among those who stayed behind are her husband, who is now fighting with Ukrainian armed forces against the Russians, and her sister in Kherson, who is unable to leave because of the current Russian occupation of the city. Larissa said her children experienced the booms of exploding Russian bombs and are emotionally traumatised. A total of approximately 300 Ukraine refugees currently live at the former Upstalsboom hotel, where they are cared for by local volunteers from two Berlin charities, including Unionhilfswerk. Among the refugees are many children, some of whom are now attending schools in the neighbourhood. Germany has taken in approximately 300,000 Ukraine refugees and is distributing those choosing to remain in Germany across the country. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #warinukraine #refugees #refugeeswelcome #berlin #unionhilfswerk #ukraine #photojournalism

Theatre goers arrive for a performance at the Deutsches Theater as the Ukrainian word for children, "dyeti," lies painted on cobblestones outside and a Ukrainian flag bearing the inscription "We Stand United" hangs above the entrance on March 29, 2022 in Berlin, Germany. The theatre is showing its solidarity with war-torn Ukraine, and in particular with the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol that was sheltering 1,300 civilians and was bombed by Russian military forces, despite the similar inscription of "dyeti" painted in very large letters on the ground on two sides of the theatre. 300 people were possibly killed in the attack. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #photojournalism #warinukraine #deutchestheater #culture #mariupol #berlin

In this aerial view newly completed Tesla Model Y electric cars stand at the new Tesla Gigafactory electric car manufacturing plant on March 25, 2022 near Gruenheide, Germany. The new plant, officially called the Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg, officially opened on March 22 with an event with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The new plant is producing the Model Y as well as electric car batteries. #gettyimages #gettyimagesnews #tesla #teslagram #teslagrünheide #electriccar #photojournalism #cars #auto #dji #djimavicpro2 #dronestagram