Photographer Niels Ackermann and journalist Sébastien Gobert are passionate observers of Ukraine, a country they have traveled extensively. Here they lead us on a journey to a town in the Donbass region that used to be called New York. Just a few miles from the front lines, in the midst of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, they meet with the inhabitants, listening to them, looking at them and sharing a bit of their everyday life. All of them describe their struggle to live freely in their native land.

New York, Ukraine acts as a guide to a city you were never expecting to visit. Quite unlike our cliché images of eastern Europe, the author and photographer lead us through the city, revealing surprising places, and the rich legacy of German colonists’ Mennonite traditions. In Niels Ackermann’s splendidly lively photos, in Sébastien Gobert’s amusing or serious interviews, readers will find out about the war’s repercussions on the lives of the city’s inhabitants. The book lets us sense their formidable life energy. Today’s Novhorodskians dreamed of rechristening their city with its original name, New York, for a fresh start. In July, 2021, the Ukrainian Parliament approved the proposal; a new life is starting for New York!