From June 3 to 18, 2023, as part of the Photoville Festival in New York, an exhibition project entitled “BEARING WITNESS: DOCUMENTING WAR CRIMES IN MARIUPOL, UKRAINE” was held, created in collaboration with FRONTLINE PBS and the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers.

The exhibition featured works by Ukrainian documentary filmmakers, members of the UAPF, and Pulitzer Prize winners Mstislav Chernov and Yevgen Maloletka.

“There were no funerals. There were no public gatherings to honor those who died during Russia's relentless attacks on the port city of Mariupol, which has become a symbol of Ukraine's fierce resistance. Only mass graves remained to remind us of the city under siege.”

The world would not have seen any of this if it weren't for the Associated Press team of Mstislav Chernov and Yevgeny Maloletka, who were in the city when the invasion began. They remained in Mariupol even after it became one of the most dangerous places on earth. For more than two weeks, they have been the only international media outlet in the city and the only journalists able to transmit video and photos to the outside world.

Thanks to their work, the world learned about the bloody atrocities committed by Russians during the capture of the city, including the attack on the Mariupol maternity hospital, which became a symbol of the cruelty of this war.