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“When the infantry trusts you to walk beside them, it's more than all the honors and awards.” Maryan Kushnir and Serhiy Nuzhnenko became the winners of the competition “Honor of the profession”

3.6.2024
2
min read

The ceremony of awarding the winners of the competition of professional journalism was held in Kyiv ”Honor of the Profession“. The winners of six main nominations and five special nominations were chosen from 700 journalists and 1,240 submitted materials.

Journalist Marian Kushnir

“Undoubtedly, these are journalists who, thanks to their material, managed to create a discussion, cause a resonance, raise important topics for civil society, tell the world truth about the war in Ukraine and its consequences for all Ukrainians. And they are professionals in their field, people who are not afraid to speak, write, listen, eyewitnesses and chroniclers of the life of the country and its people,” the statement reads message on the Facebook page of the award, where you can see the full list of winners in the nominations.

Screenshot from the story that received the Honor of the Profession Award

This year, among the winners of the contest in the nomination “Best news coverage of a resonant event” are journalists, videographers and photographers Maryan Kushnir and Serhiy Nuzhnenko. They showed exclusive footage from the battlefield near Bakhmut. Before the assault began, journalists attached video cameras to the military to record everything that was happening. Assault unit “Edelweiss” conducted a successful operation, the troops managed to advance. Their report ”The Armed Forces went on a counterattack near Bakhmut: the first shots from the battlefield” was published by Radio Svoboda.

Photojournalist Serhiy Nuzhnenko

“It is important that the professional community appreciated my work, because this material is about the everyday affairs of the military, who until recently were civilians and did not intend to take up arms. This is about the reality of many who are at the front now. This is also about relevance. After all, is there anything more urgent than war? So I am glad that it was noticed and, in particular, will help more people see it,” says Maryan Kushnir.

Serhiy Nuzhnenko notes that, unfortunately, among those soldiers who took part in this assault — there are dead, missing and wounded. “The history of Ukraine is not made in Kiev or other cities, it is made in the settlements of Donbass, Kharkiv region, steppes in Zaporizhia or in the floodplains of Kherson region,” says Sergey Nuzhnenko. - As the military man and poet Maxim Kryvtsov said: “When they ask me what war is — I will answer without hesitation: “Names”. During this assault, one of the soldiers was killed, and his body, along with his comrades, I carried somewhere a kilometer to the evacuation site. Through the bushes and under fire. The boys did not have enough hands and needed to help. And no matter how these wearables cut your hands, they can not be thrown away. When the infantry trusts you to go alongside them, that trust is worth a lot to me. This is more than all the honors and awards. They are with a machine, we and a camera are going to create the history of Ukraine.”

Screenshot from the story that received the Honor of the Profession Award

In total, Sergey and Maryan together with the military filmed counterattacks of the Ukrainian defense forces at least 5-6 times during the full-scale invasion.

“The Honor of the Profession” is a Ukrainian competition of professional journalism, which has been held since 2010. The organizer of the award is the National Media Association. This year, journalistic materials were submitted to the competition, which were published in the media from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.  

How to take pictures where it is dangerous and scary? Candid conversation with military expert Marjan Kushnir about shooting in hot spots.

Marjan Kushnir (30 years old) — Ukrainian journalist, videographer, photographer, since 2015 he has been working in the Ukrainian editorial office of Radio Svoboda. Since then, he goes to the front and covers the fighting on the territory of Ukraine, prepares reports on mass actions. After Russia's open military attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it covers the events from hot spots where active hostilities are taking place. On March 11, 2022, he received a contusion in the Kiev region, in the village of Baryshivka. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2022).

Photographer's social networks: Facebook Instagram

Serhiy Nuzhnenko— reportage photographer. Photocorrespondent of Radio Svoboda since 2016. Since February 2022, he has become a war photographer: he filmed events in Kyiv, Chernihiv region, Kharkiv region, and now works mainly in Donbas. He is the author of photos from Bucha and Irpen, which Ukrposhta used in their stamps for the anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv region in March 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko's Works Completed the International Exhibition #OntheFrontlinesofTruth organized by the NGO “Institute of Mass Information” and the international organization in the field of independent media development Internews. The pictures were exhibited at the station in Vilnius. Also, Nuzhnenko's picture about Russian aggression in Ukraine was included in 100 photos of 2022 according to Time magazine. During the Revolution of Dignity, Nuzhnenko was one of the nine “Bankova prisoners”.

Photographer's social networks: Facebook Instagram

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar

The ceremony of awarding the winners of the competition of professional journalism was held in Kyiv ”Honor of the Profession“. The winners of six main nominations and five special nominations were chosen from 700 journalists and 1,240 submitted materials.

Journalist Marian Kushnir

“Undoubtedly, these are journalists who, thanks to their material, managed to create a discussion, cause a resonance, raise important topics for civil society, tell the world truth about the war in Ukraine and its consequences for all Ukrainians. And they are professionals in their field, people who are not afraid to speak, write, listen, eyewitnesses and chroniclers of the life of the country and its people,” the statement reads message on the Facebook page of the award, where you can see the full list of winners in the nominations.

Screenshot from the story that received the Honor of the Profession Award

This year, among the winners of the contest in the nomination “Best news coverage of a resonant event” are journalists, videographers and photographers Maryan Kushnir and Serhiy Nuzhnenko. They showed exclusive footage from the battlefield near Bakhmut. Before the assault began, journalists attached video cameras to the military to record everything that was happening. Assault unit “Edelweiss” conducted a successful operation, the troops managed to advance. Their report ”The Armed Forces went on a counterattack near Bakhmut: the first shots from the battlefield” was published by Radio Svoboda.

Photojournalist Serhiy Nuzhnenko

“It is important that the professional community appreciated my work, because this material is about the everyday affairs of the military, who until recently were civilians and did not intend to take up arms. This is about the reality of many who are at the front now. This is also about relevance. After all, is there anything more urgent than war? So I am glad that it was noticed and, in particular, will help more people see it,” says Maryan Kushnir.

Serhiy Nuzhnenko notes that, unfortunately, among those soldiers who took part in this assault — there are dead, missing and wounded. “The history of Ukraine is not made in Kiev or other cities, it is made in the settlements of Donbass, Kharkiv region, steppes in Zaporizhia or in the floodplains of Kherson region,” says Sergey Nuzhnenko. - As the military man and poet Maxim Kryvtsov said: “When they ask me what war is — I will answer without hesitation: “Names”. During this assault, one of the soldiers was killed, and his body, along with his comrades, I carried somewhere a kilometer to the evacuation site. Through the bushes and under fire. The boys did not have enough hands and needed to help. And no matter how these wearables cut your hands, they can not be thrown away. When the infantry trusts you to go alongside them, that trust is worth a lot to me. This is more than all the honors and awards. They are with a machine, we and a camera are going to create the history of Ukraine.”

Screenshot from the story that received the Honor of the Profession Award

In total, Sergey and Maryan together with the military filmed counterattacks of the Ukrainian defense forces at least 5-6 times during the full-scale invasion.

“The Honor of the Profession” is a Ukrainian competition of professional journalism, which has been held since 2010. The organizer of the award is the National Media Association. This year, journalistic materials were submitted to the competition, which were published in the media from February 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.  

How to take pictures where it is dangerous and scary? Candid conversation with military expert Marjan Kushnir about shooting in hot spots.

Marjan Kushnir (30 years old) — Ukrainian journalist, videographer, photographer, since 2015 he has been working in the Ukrainian editorial office of Radio Svoboda. Since then, he goes to the front and covers the fighting on the territory of Ukraine, prepares reports on mass actions. After Russia's open military attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it covers the events from hot spots where active hostilities are taking place. On March 11, 2022, he received a contusion in the Kiev region, in the village of Baryshivka. Knight of the Order “For Merit” III degree (2022).

Photographer's social networks: Facebook Instagram

Serhiy Nuzhnenko— reportage photographer. Photocorrespondent of Radio Svoboda since 2016. Since February 2022, he has become a war photographer: he filmed events in Kyiv, Chernihiv region, Kharkiv region, and now works mainly in Donbas. He is the author of photos from Bucha and Irpen, which Ukrposhta used in their stamps for the anniversary of the liberation of Kyiv region in March 2023. Serhiy Nuzhnenko's Works Completed the International Exhibition #OntheFrontlinesofTruth organized by the NGO “Institute of Mass Information” and the international organization in the field of independent media development Internews. The pictures were exhibited at the station in Vilnius. Also, Nuzhnenko's picture about Russian aggression in Ukraine was included in 100 photos of 2022 according to Time magazine. During the Revolution of Dignity, Nuzhnenko was one of the nine “Bankova prisoners”.

Photographer's social networks: Facebook Instagram

The material was worked on:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Literary Editor: Julia Futei
Site Manager: Vladislav Kuhar

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