Image of dying pregnant Ukrainian woman wins World Press Photo of the Year

Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the year for his harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack
Iryna Kalinina, 32, an injured pregnant woman, is carried from a maternity hospital that was damaged during a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, on 9 March 2022. Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award on Thursday, April 20, 2023, for this harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)Iryna Kalinina, 32, an injured pregnant woman, is carried from a maternity hospital that was damaged during a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, on 9 March 2022. Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award on Thursday, April 20, 2023, for this harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Iryna Kalinina, 32, an injured pregnant woman, is carried from a maternity hospital that was damaged during a Russian airstrike in Mariupol, Ukraine, on 9 March 2022. Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award on Thursday, April 20, 2023, for this harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

THirty two year old, Iryna Kalinina, died of her injuries a half hour after giving birth to the lifeless body of her baby named Miron.

"For me, it is a moment that all the time I want to forget, but I cannot. The story will always stay with me," Mr Maloletka said in an interview ahead of the announcement.

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"Evgeniy Maloletka captured one of the most defining images of the Russia-Ukraine war amid incredibly challenging circumstances," said AP senior vice president and executive editor, Julie Pace.

Winner of the 2023 World Press Photo of the Year award, Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, who works for the Associated Press (AP), poses next to his winning photo in the Nieuwe Kerk, in Amsterdam on April 20, 2023. - Maloletka won with this photo that portrays injured pregnant woman Iryna Kalinina, 32, being carried from a maternity
hospital that was damaged during an airstrike on Mariupol. Russian forces invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. (Photo by Ramon van Flymen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by RAMON VAN FLYMEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)Winner of the 2023 World Press Photo of the Year award, Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, who works for the Associated Press (AP), poses next to his winning photo in the Nieuwe Kerk, in Amsterdam on April 20, 2023. - Maloletka won with this photo that portrays injured pregnant woman Iryna Kalinina, 32, being carried from a maternity
hospital that was damaged during an airstrike on Mariupol. Russian forces invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. (Photo by Ramon van Flymen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by RAMON VAN FLYMEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
Winner of the 2023 World Press Photo of the Year award, Ukrainian photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, who works for the Associated Press (AP), poses next to his winning photo in the Nieuwe Kerk, in Amsterdam on April 20, 2023. - Maloletka won with this photo that portrays injured pregnant woman Iryna Kalinina, 32, being carried from a maternity hospital that was damaged during an airstrike on Mariupol. Russian forces invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. (Photo by Ramon van Flymen / ANP / AFP) / Netherlands OUT (Photo by RAMON VAN FLYMEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)

She added: "Without his unflinching courage, little would be known of one of Russia's most brutal attacks. We are enormously proud of him."

AP Director of Photography J David Ake added: "It's not often that a single image becomes seared into the world's collective memory.

"Evgeniy Maloletka lived up to the highest standards of photojournalism by capturing the decisive moment, while upholding the tradition of AP journalists worldwide to shine a light on what would have otherwise remained unseen."

Mr Maloletka and AP video journalist Mystyslav Chernov, who also is Ukrainian, arrived in Mariupol just as Russia's February 24 2022 invasion sparked Europe's biggest conflict since the SEcond World War.

World Press Photo of the Year award winner, Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, gives a speech in front of his winning image of a pregnant woman being carried through the wreckage of a maternity hospital after a Russian military strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, during a press conference announcing the winners in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)World Press Photo of the Year award winner, Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, gives a speech in front of his winning image of a pregnant woman being carried through the wreckage of a maternity hospital after a Russian military strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, during a press conference announcing the winners in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
World Press Photo of the Year award winner, Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, gives a speech in front of his winning image of a pregnant woman being carried through the wreckage of a maternity hospital after a Russian military strike in Mariupol, Ukraine, during a press conference announcing the winners in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

They stayed for more than two weeks, chronicling the Russian military pounding the city and hitting hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.

An AP investigation found that as many as 600 people may have been killed when a Mariupol theatre being used as a bomb shelter was hit on March 16 last year.

The pair were the only international journalists left in the city when they finally managed a risky escape.

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In the three other global categories announced on Thursday, two-time World Press Photo winner Mads Nissen of Denmark won Photo Story of the Year for his series for Politiken and Panos Pictures, titled The Price of Peace in Afghanistan, about daily life in Afghanistan in 2022.

Anush Babajanyan of Armenia won the Long-Term Project award for Battered Waters for VII Photo and National Geographic Society, and Egyptian photographer Mohamed Mahdy won the Open Format award for Here, The Doors Don't Know Me.

The four global winners were selected from more than 60,000 entries submitted by 3,752 entrants from 127 countries.