Lev Skop, an art historian and iconographer, paints images of saints and the Virgin Mary on wooden planks salvaged from used ammunition crates. Too old to serve in the military, he visits soldiers on the frontline monthly to deliver these symbolic artworks, many small enough to fit in dugouts or beneath vests.
Skop has never kept track of how many icons he’s given away. But those close to him estimate he has donated over 6,000 since 2014.
The work holds special meaning as Ukraine marks its Day of Statehood on 15 July.
