Ievhen Malolietka, “Photos from Mariupol constitute a historical document”

Ukrainian photojournalist Ievhen Malolietka worked in Mariupol during the siege of the city by russian occupation forces in March 2022. He took and transmitted photos that became evidence of russia’s war crimes together with his colleagues in tough conditions. In a conversation with “Reputational ACTIVists,” Ievhen recalled the events of those terrible days and said that it is still hard for him to view the photos taken in the city on the shore of the Sea of Azov.

You worked in surrounded Mariupol and got there an hour before the bombing began. Why did you decide to take such a risk?

We decided to go to Mariupol in advance together with the team – Mstyslav Chernov and Vasylisa Stepanenko. Indeed, this is a significant risk, but we have been working in the war for nine years, and it is not the first time we have risked our lives. We witnessed crimes against humanity committed in Mariupol and other cities in Ukraine. When transmitting information, we have always tried to write only what we saw ourselves. If a russian tank fired at a residential building, we wrote about it. Independent journalists needed to present the situation objectively. Several points in the city were still providing us with Internet, in particular, the police connected a generator to the Kyivstar’s tower and adjusted the equipment, thanks to which it was possible to transmit information. The last few days before leaving the city, we transferred images via satellite Internet at the patrol police station. Sometimes during the shelling, we had to quickly transfer files, sitting under the stairs, sticking out a hand with the phone.

Many people around the world have seen your photos from the war. How did foreigners react?

Photos from Mariupol and other cities in Ukraine deeply moved people. In addition, thanks to such photos and videos, the world provided a lot of help to people who suffered from the war. The picture of a mother holding her murdered child in her arms cannot leave anyone indifferent. Or a mother crying in the hospital because she has just lost two children. This is not just a photo. It is a historical document. It is hard for me every time when I watch the materials from Mariupol. I don't know how people can handle seeing all this.

The russians are currently actively creating an alternative history of the complete destruction of Mariupol. How can Ukraine resist such attempts?

Propaganda in russia works well and influences the opinion of the majority of the population, which does not have access to alternative sources of information. Many simply do not know how to check the facts, so they take them. Thus, propaganda creates a myth that it was not russian troops that burned house after house in Mariupol but that Ukrainians fired at themselves. The russians tried to create a myth that they are the liberators and not the ones destroying the city and killing civilians, but we have seen the opposite. We were in Mariupol then, saw everything with our own eyes, and took photos and videos.