Ukrainian soldier uses mud and ash to paint scenes of nature and war

Trench mud is visible on a fragment of a painting displayed at the exhibition of a Ukrainian serviceman Oleg Bazylewicz, 59, who draws pictures with mud, clay and ashes from a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 11, 2024. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich/File Photo

KYIV (Reuters) - When Oleg Bazylewicz, an artist and writer, signed up for military duty on the day that Russia invaded his native Ukraine, he readied the two things he valued most - his watercolours and his block flute, a musical instrument.

At the front, the first lieutenant who serves as the deputy commander of an artillery battery took time away from the drudgery of his daily duties to draw and paint, using pencil, charcoal and his watercolours.