Visualizing the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winner Evgeniy Maloletka
Residents of surrounding Mariupol evacuated into the city’s underground centers, which would host around 2,000 people during Russia’s siege of the city on Feb. 27, 2022 Photo: Politico
Key Points
Evgeniy Maloletka was a photographer on the ground during Russia’s siege of the city of Mariupol on Ukraine’s southeastern border, during which he captured images of the siege alongside a crew of filmmakers documenting the events for a film titled “20 Days in Mariupol.”
Description of the devastation on the population and at the terrain, as well as how global perceptions shifted during this time. Examples of Russian propaganda and cover-ups of the conflict.
Photographs tell the story of the siege and give personal examples of the people affected.
Summary
On March 18, 2023, the Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia hosted photographer Evgeniy Maloletka for a panel on his work in photographing the siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol on February 24. It included the panel facilitator Lauren Walsh, the Director of NYU Gallatin’s Photojournalism Lab. It saw the discussion and presentation on Maloletka’s photography, as well as his experience on the ground. The panel began with Maloletka’s message to consider the role of journalists in a setting of conflict, and the dangers they face, as well as the potential changes in world policy and public opinion that come from the publication of their observations. He explains that photographers are a visual medium of communication from on-ground conflict to the rest of the world, and implies a certain amount of intensity to be encountered by these journalists.
Maloletka described the propaganda Moscow filtered into Russian news circles to rally support for a cause that involved a potential Ukrainian annexation, and the lengths it went to in pitting Ukrainian forces against the women and children of the country, with a motive to “protect” them through Russian intervention. Maloletka pointed out the dangers of the Russian propaganda machine when the conflict came to a head and the excuses it created for the deadly Russian invasion that took place. Such examples given were Ukrainian forces keeping their women and children as hostages from the “righteous Russian forces” coming to their aid, meant to give Russian citizens a sense of moral good from the conflict.
Maloletka described the initiation of the Russian invasion on February 24th, 2022 as an event with an immediate impact on the people of Ukraine. The photos he provided to the panel illustrated a gruesome landscape of loss of life and meandering aid. In light of this, he emphasized that determination never left the people, as he photographs subjects who continued to persevere despite their given circumstances, an example being a lost elderly woman he encounters, who he pleads to evacuate. Instead, she firmly states she will not leave, as she grew up here and will continue to remain put.
The photo shows the remnants of the mechanisms used to torture Ukrainian citizens during the siege. Malolekta notes that the Russian force's methods of torture were instructed so as not to leave any evident marks on the body, leading to methods such as the use of gas masks, electricity, and water. Photo: Evgeniy's Website
Maloletka continued to capture the siege by photographing events including loss of life and effects on the landscape. He vividly described how hospitals were full of patients and mourning loved ones, and how the land was turned unrecognizable after a week of the conflict had lapsed.
Captures the unmarked graves of Ukrainian soldiers and citizens, buried by Russian infantry and “hidden” in wooded areas to prevent discovery of the massive casualties. Maloletka describes how after the graves were discovered, a mass operation was enacted by civilians to bury each person in these graves properly. Photo: Unmarked Graves
Finally, Maloletka noted how buildings were shot at, forcing citizens to find refuge or escape from the besieged city. People were trapped in buildings or forced to find shelter in relatively “unaffected” areas. He explained that the people of Ukraine, though remaining hopeful, have been left with a scarred mentality of the horrors they’ve had to endure for the past year. He ended his presentation with a list of the number of journalists in action who were killed during the siege, naming fourteen total, leaving the audience with a sense of unease and a cryptic feeling of what else the conflict can bring in the future.
This report was compiled by Nazea Kamal on October 29, 2023, and edited by Alexis Tretschok.