DW honors Ukrainian journalists Maloletka and Chernov for Mariupol reporting

Risking their lives, Evgeniy Maloletka and Mstyslav Chernov documented Russia's siege of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The journalists are the 2022 recipients of DW's Freedom of Speech Award.

DW's Freedom of Speech Award 2022 will be given to the freelance photojournalist Evgeniy Maloletka and to Associated Press videographer and photojournalist Mstyslav Chernov, who together documented the siege and destruction of the port city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, as well as the work of doctors and undertakers, and the suffering of countless victims.

Their images of a maternity hospital destroyed by Russian bombs were seen around the world.

When Russia recognized the independence of the so-called People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in February, Maloletka told DW, it became clear to the journalists that war was inevitable — the only question was when it would begin. "We were aware that they would try to establish a corridor to annexed Crimea via Mariupol," Maloletka said. When the invasion began on February 24, the journalists were in Mariupol, a port city on the Azov Sea.

Mariupol was one of the first cities in Russia's crosshairs. "We filmed missiles hitting apartment buildings," said Maloletka. Initially, the eastern part of Mariupol was affected by the shelling; apart from that, other parts of the city were relatively quiet — Maloletka said the journalists were more or less able to work normally and move freely there.

Defending Mariupol

During the following days, increasing numbers of Ukrainian soldiers arrived in Mariupol. "The entire military entered the city because it was no longer possible to hold positions out in the fields," said Maloletka. The shelling became more intense, including in the center of the city. There were airstrikes, and Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups were out and about in the city.

It became more difficult to move around freely. Fewer and