Russian Photographer’s Mariupol Series Shortlisted for Leica Award, Sparking Backlash

Russian photographer Valery Melnikov has been shortlisted for the 2026 Leica Oskar Barnack Award with a photo series documenting the aftermath of Russia's siege of Mariupol.

The shortlist was published on the official website of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.

Melnikov's series, titled Open Wounds, portrays residents of the Ukrainian port and industrial city of Mariupol following Russia's full-scale invasion.

According to the project's description, the series documents the humanitarian consequences of the siege that began after Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.

“Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent siege of the city at the end of February 2022, relentless fighting broke out, resulting in numerous civilian casualties. Melnikov's current documentary project focuses on the unbearable humanitarian consequences of the war for the city's remaining residents,” the award description states.

The nomination drew criticism from Ukrainian documentary photographer Serhii Korovainyi, who has extensively covered Russia's war against Ukraine.

In a statement published via Facebook on June 9, Korovainyi argued that the competition failed to acknowledge Russia's responsibility for the devastation depicted in the photographs.

“The competition, by honoring a Russian photographer, provides no context about who killed tens of thousands of civilians in the city, who destroyed it, who inflicted these wounds,” he wrote.

Korovainyi also noted that no international media organizations have been granted independent access to Russian-occupied Mariupol to produce objective reporting from the city.

“[This is] honouring a propagandist, a resident of the aggressor state,” he stated.

Mariupol remains one of the most heavily devastated Ukrainian cities following Russia's full-scale invasion. During the 2022 siege, residents endured weeks without reliable access to food, water, electricity, or medical care while the city came under continuous Russian bombardment.

One of the best-known firsthand accounts of those events is Kateryna Savenko's Diary. For 34 days, Savenko and her family sheltered in the basement of their home as Russian airstrikes and artillery reduced the city to ruins, documenting their daily struggle for survival throughout the siege.

Preliminary estimates by the Mariupol City Council indicate that at least 22,000 people were killed during Russia's siege of the city, although local authorities believe the true number is likely several times higher.

As of 2026, Mariupol remains under Russian occupation.

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