Pulitzer Prizes for Ukraine war coverage
The AP's gripping images of Moscow's war on Ukraine won the news outlet two Pulitzer Prizes. Here is a selection of the stunning photos depicting the horrors of war in Ukraine. Warning: Some images are distressing.
The image that moved millions
Rescue workers evacuate a pregnant woman who was critically injured when a missile struck the maternity clinic in Mariupol where she was staying. The image, taken by Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, touched millions of people around the world and even won him the World Press Photo of the Year award. But there was no happy end: Both the mother and her unborn child died.
A dying child
Evgeniy Maloletka also captured this heartbreaking image of doctors failing to save the life of the 18-month-old boy Kirill, who was fatally wounded in a shelling. The AP received the prestigious Public Service award for its coverage of the siege of Mariupol that Pulitzer administrator Marjorie Miller said "bore witness to the slaughter of civilians in Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
A testimony of destruction
Journalists from the US-based news agency stayed in the beleaguered harbor city long after other news organizations had left. For nearly three weeks, they were the only ones reporting from Mariupol, until Russian forces stormed the city. Thanks to this, Maloletka was able to capture this explosion in a residential complex caused by Russian tank fire.
The horror of mass graves
Evgeniy Maloletka also documented the mass graves surrounding Mariupol. Pulitzer Prize Board co-chair Neil Brown described AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine as "courageous."
A quiet moment of hope
It's an intimate moment amid the chaos of war: a mother cradling her baby in a bomb shelter in Mariupol. This image, too, was taken by Maloletka. He and his colleague Mstyslav Chernov — an AP video journalist — were presented with DW's Freedom of Speech Award in 2022.
Death and devastation
AP journalists bore witness to gut-wrenching sorrow, such as that of Nadiya Trubchaninova, seen here mourning the death of her son at a cemetery on the outskirts of Kyiv. The news agency was not only honored for its coverage from Mariupol — it also received the Pulitzer Breaking News Photography award for its "unique and urgent" images documenting the first weeks of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Flimsy shelter
Ukrainian civilians crowd under a partially destroyed bridge as they attempt to cross the Irpin River on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP photographer Emilio Morenatti captured this image in early 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The grief of those left behind
Photojournalist Morenatti also took this picture of Anastasia Ohrimenko (center), seen here being comforted by friends and relatives at the funeral of her husband in Bucha. The Ukrainian serviceman was killed in combat in eastern Ukraine.
Eyes filled with fear
A wounded civilian stared directly into the camera of AP photographer Bernat Armangue, allowing him to capture the dread in her eyes. The picture was taken inside the ambulance that took her to a hospital in Kherson, southern Ukraine.
The lonely pianist
Vasil Newolow rests inside a theater in the city of Drohobych. After his home in Kyiv was destroyed, he fled to western Ukraine. Bernat Armangue took this picture, which was nominated for a Pulitzer.
A trail through destruction
The staff of the New York Times were awarded a Putlizer Prize in the category International Reporting for their months-long investigation into Russian armed forces' brutal murder of Ukrainian civilians in the city of Bucha. This image was taken by AP photographer Rodrigo Abd and shows a young woman making her way through the streets of the devastated city.
Speechless
In the summer of 2022, Natacha Pisarenko caught this image of a man staring up at the burnt out remains of buildings in the Kyiv suburb of Borodyanka. This image was part of a series of images submitted by AP photographers that was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.