Evgeny Maloletka is a Ukrainian photojournalist who became widely known for his photo report on the blockade of Mariupol during Russia's invasion of Ukraine in March 2022. Winner of the 2022 Knight International Journalism Awards from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). Winner of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (2024).
Maloletka was born in Berdiansk and graduated from the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in 2010 with a degree in engineering. In 2009, he began publishing as a photojournalist for UNIAN and PHL. Later he worked as a freelancer and collaborated with the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and Der Spiegel.
In 2013-2014, Maloletka covered the protests in Kyiv that led to the ouster of President Yanukovych. On December 1, 2013, while filming on Bankova Street near the Presidential Administration, Berkut officers broke his arm and smashed his camera.
In 2020-2021, Maloletka covered the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine. In particular, his photo of doctor Ivan Venzhynovych was widely used for social advertising.
On the night of February 24, 2022, in anticipation of the invasion of Russian troops, Associated Press assignee Maloletka and video journalist Mstyslav Chernov arrived in Mariupol. In the following days, they filmed the destruction caused by the shelling of the city and the work of doctors in local hospitals. On March 9, 2022, Maloletka filmed the aftermath of the shelling of the city by Russian troops. One of them, Marianna Vyshemyrska, gave birth the day after the bombing, and the other (her name is unknown) died of her wounds. The photos of the bombed-out maternity ward became widely known, becoming one of the symbols of this war. The journalists left Mariupol on March 15, 2022, as part of the convoy that left after the opening of the humanitarian corridor.
Awards and honors:
Winner of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine (2024) for a series of journalistic materials about the siege of Mariupol (reports, photo and video reports, investigations and the film “20 Days in Mariupol”)
Pulitzer Prize (2023) in the category for public service[10].
Winner of the 2023 World Press Photo of the Year
Winner of the 2015 APME News Photo Contest
2015, Honorable mention in the Slovak Press Photo International category
2015, first and second place in the genre, documentary and news nomination of the Ukrainian press photo contest
2015, II and III places in the open nomination “Ukraine” Belarus Press Photo Contest
Second place in 2015 in the general news category of the China International Press Photo Contest
2015, first place in the general news category of the International Contest “Pictures of the Year”
2014, third place in the category “Portrait” in the photo contest “The Best Photographer of Russia”
2014, Grand Prix of the Ukrainian photo contest “Photo Day”
2013, II place in the news category of the Ukrainian press photo contest
2011, finalist of the International Photojournalism Festival Vilnius Photo Circle
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
