Authors

Discussion

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, land relations in Ukraine have become increasingly problematic. People have been displaced or lost land access, land has been mined or polluted with toxic substances, and large areas have been occupied or abandoned. During these developments, land has acquired new symbolic meanings: it has been described as bearing the scars of the war, but also become a symbol of resilience, regenerative capacity, and recovery. This study traces such discursive shifts through an analysis of Ukrainian media and online publications. We identify visualisation, quantification, and personal storytelling as ways in which often complex land changes are translated into public discourses. The study thereby gives insights into symbolic shifts and discursive openings that occur as land relations lose their self-evidence. This is significant not least because regenerating land and land relations will require new approaches to and framings of future land relations.