not an option.” Biden will continue negotiations with Congress on the debt limit

Evgeny Maloletka – a Ukrainian photojournalist who, together with his colleagues Mstislav Chernov and Laurie Ginnantas well as a fixer Vasilisa Stepanenko became laureates of the most prestigious journalistic award – the Pulitzer Prize.

They received the award in the category of Public Service (public service, – ed.) for their work in Mariupol. In February-March 2022, they filmed the destruction caused by shelling of the city and the work of doctors in local hospitals. On March 9, Yevhen filmed the consequences of the shelling by Russian troops of Mariupol City Hospital No. 3 and the patients of the maternity ward.

Journalists left Mariupol on March 15, 2022 as part of a convoy that left the city after the opening of the humanitarian corridor. Thanks to their photos and videos, the world was able to understand what is really happening in the besieged city and what trials its residents are going through.

The Pulitzer is not Maloletka’s first award. In April, Yevhen became the winner of one of the most prestigious photo contests, World Press Photo. He won with the photo “Airstrike on the maternity hospital in Mariupol”. In 2022, he also became laureate of the James Knight International Journalism Award.

In an interview with Iryna Solomko, Yevhen Maloletka told about why it is difficult for him to be happy about the award, about the professionalism of Ukrainian journalists and the influence of the photographs themselves and the awards for them on the course of the war.

The interview has been edited for clarity and flow.

Iryna Solomko, Voice of America correspondent: Evgeny, I congratulate you on your victory. This is an extremely important event in the world of American, world, and now Ukrainian journalism, because it was Ukrainian journalists who received it. How important is this to you?

Evgeny Maloletka, Pulitzer Prize laureate: These are truly events that will not leave anyone indifferent. The events that are happening even now in Ukraine should be told to the whole world. Therefore, this award is a recognition for that work, for those projects that we did throughout the year, not only in Mariupol. The honor is not only mine, but also of all the colleagues who worked on these stories – Mstislav [Чернова]Lori [Гіннант]Vasilisa [Степаненко](the four of them received the award, – ed.).

These are people who spent a lot of time to tell what happened at that time. And the fact that we, as representatives of Ukrainian journalism, receive this award inspires us to work even harder. Because the war did not go anywhere. And we must continue to work to tell about war crimes and the security situation. There is still a lot of work to do, and we must not stop.

I.S.: But if we talk about you personally, you received a lot of awards last year. Can we say that this is the highest recognition for you personally?

E.M.: Yes, indeed, everyone dreams of winning a Pulitzer, and I guess I did too. But in this whirlwind of events, it is very difficult to emotionally receive awards with such materials. You get credit for the horror we had to go through with these people to tell their stories. And unfortunately it also affects all of us, war affects everyone.

And this is, indeed, a journalistic “Oscar”, which will remain and show that Ukrainian journalists are competent and can work on a par with international colleagues, including all journalistic standards.

I.S.: Actually, about standards. As soon as the photos appeared, Russian sources and high-ranking officials said that they were fake. And does this award now put an end to that issue?

E.M.: I think that the full stop has long been set, because people have been through it all and seen it all. You cannot erase this evidence, because the photos and videos will remain. It is very important that many journalists cover the war. Because there are still many crimes that need to be documented and verified. And journalists in such a difficult security time, risking their lives, sometimes at the cost of their own lives, obtain these testimonies. And this is very important today. And it is not only Ukrainian journalists who worked on the projects. These are both fixers and drivers… These are a lot of people who brought these crumbs of information, and thanks to these crumbs, a general picture of everything that was happening was gathered.

I.S.: When we spoke with you in New York at your exhibition, you said that you would like to believe that photography can change the course of war, but now the reality is a little different, comparing it to the same World War I or World War II wars But such awards, do they help change the course of the war?

E.M.: It seems to me that all this gave a certain assessment and understanding of the situation, what the war looked like, how it was at the beginning in Mariupol. And it gave us an understanding: what we saw with our own eyes was very different from what the propagandist Russian media said. That is why journalists are so important when there is a war. And it costs a lot and sometimes it’s very expensive to meet all the standards and deliver correct, verified information to people. Because you know that many of our colleagues died or were injured during their work.

I.S.: Another important question concerns the red lines. Ukrainian media have them. For example, they do not report the number of dead and wounded on the Ukrainian side, moreover, they do not even ask about it. You work for a global agency that does not have these fuses. How difficult is it for you to work in such conditions? Is there no conflict between Maloletka-Ukrainian and Maloletka-journalist?

E.M.: Yes, working in one’s own country is different than visiting from time to time. But I think that in any war there are always limitations, including those related to the security situation. We live in a time where warfare is almost entirely online, so we see some limitations on how information can be reported. So I can say that there is, for example, a time embargo, but I won’t say that we have any red lines. We work as before. But there are certain conditions regarding the prompt dissemination of information [щодо прильотів]which we have to show not immediately.

I.S.: You have now received the journalistic “Oscar”, this is, in fact, the pinnacle of your career. But how do you see your further professional development?

E.M.: We continue to work, because the war is not over, it continues, and our main goal as Ukrainians and as journalists is to continue working. You can’t put a full stop, because I received this award, to say: “That’s it, I’m done.”

The most difficult thing is not only to reach, but also to keep. Therefore, it is important to conserve energy to continue working. Don’t run out of breath in this marathon. Because this war is not a 100-meter race, it is a marathon. And it is sometimes necessary to save strength and energy in order to continue working in a full-fledged mode.

I.S.: You continue to visit hot spots. Are these human stories still the focus of your attention?

E.M.: We constantly go to the front line, talk with the guys. Because there it is really difficult, there you feel how important it is to show situations from the inside. Sometimes it’s the pieces that you pick up to tell the big picture. Because sometimes you have to be very deep, because from a distance you may not see the main problem. Therefore, you have to be very close sometimes and take risks, but this is our job.

But we have a very cool team. These are professional people with whom it is not scary to go somewhere. And you understand that you have a reliable shoulder that is always there. I would also like to note that we received powerful coverage of our materials thanks to the fact that our agency [Associated Press] distributed this material all over the world. And many people saw him from the first days of the war.

I.S.: This, as well as your award, indicate that, despite all the talk that the world is tired of war and Ukraine, the focus of attention is still on Ukraine?

E.M.: Yes, it is difficult to maintain such a level of news and constantly talk about Ukraine. Moreover, a year has already passed. But what will you do? We try and tell, but from time to time there is a decrease in interest in the informative post. We are nothing without the editors and their support. Just people who worked in the field. Behind us is a large agency, very serious editors who worked with our materials, produced them, edited them. And this is a lot of work.