Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award on Thursday for his harrowing photo of rescue workers carrying a pregnant woman through the ruins of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
The March 9, 2022 image of the mortally wounded woman, her left hand on her bloodied left lower abdomen, highlighted the horror of Russia’s brutal assault on the port city at the start of the war.
32-year-old Iryna Kalinina died of her injuries half an hour after giving birth to the lifeless body of her baby named Miron.
“For me, it’s a moment that I always want to forget, but I can’t. The story will always stay with me, ”said the photographer in an interview before the announcement.
Associated Press Senior Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Julie Pace said the photographer took one of the most defining photos of the war under the “incredibly difficult circumstances”.
“Without his unwavering courage, nothing would be known about one of Russia’s most brutal attacks. We are extremely proud of him,” she added.
The news agency’s director of photography, J. David Ake, added: “It is rare that a single image is etched in the collective memory of the world. Evgeniy Maloletka upheld the highest standards of photojournalism in capturing the “decisive moment,” while upholding the tradition of AP reporters around the world to shine a light on what would otherwise have gone unseen. »
Mr Maloletka, AP video reporter Mystyslav Chernov and AP producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, who are also Ukrainians, arrived in Mariupol just as the invasion of Russia, which began on February 24, 2022 , sparked the biggest European conflict since the Second World War. They stayed for more than two weeks, showing footage of the attacks that devastated hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. An AP investigation found that up to 600 people were believed to have been killed when a theater in Mariupol used as a bomb shelter was hit on March 16 last year.
Mr. Maloletka said he and Mr. Chernov believed it was important to stay in Mariupol, despite the danger, “to collect people’s voices and collect their emotions and show them all over the world”.
A series of photos by Evgeniy Maloletka from besieged Mariupol also won several other awards in Europe.
Dane Mads Nissen, double winner of the World Press Photo, also won the World Press Photo Series of the Year award for his photos of daily life in Afghanistan.
As for several years, Expo World Press Photo will be presented at Bonsecours Market in Montreal. The event will run from August 30 to October 15.