And I realised, as long as
my work matters to others,
I won’t stop.
The most challenging aspect
is always writing about
human losses and speaking
with relatives who have
lost their children. No training
can equip one with the
emotional resilience needed
to withstand such grief.
The only
Material
Cooperate with Anna
Two reasons keep me going. The first is the need for justice — to ensure those responsible for the tragedy of my country and my personal loss are held accountable. The second is the people. In a moment of weakness, I almost gave up, but then I received a message from a reader: “Thank you for your work. You unite us [the people of Mariupol], scattered around the world.”
During the war, I realised something crucial. We gave space to liars and criminals under the pretext of an “alternative viewpoint.” But calling black white is not a viewpoint — it’s disinformation. We’ve allowed disinformation to thrive, now termed post-truth or “alternative facts.” Since 2022, I’ve made it a principle not to leave room for posttruth in my work. Calling things by their real names is a luxury I now afford myself.
However, it seems that the most significant piece I wrote was about the airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre on 16 March 2022. At that time, there were no journalists left in the city; it was isolated, without communication. By sheer chance, I managed to connect with a family that had survived the airstrike.
This became the first official testimony of a Russian crime against civilians. I not only conducted the interview but also provided the recorded testimony to human rights organisations and investigators from the International Criminal Court. For me, it was crucial to preserve this evidence for history — to contribute to the future prosecution of the criminals responsible, including Putin and his inner circle.
Azovstal plant, Mariupol
Azovstal plant, Mariupol
Photo credit:
The 12th Special
Forces
Brigade Azov (azov.org.ua)
Today, the central theme of my work is the war and its far-reaching impacts.
The impact on people, now scattered across the world. The impact on the environment, which is devastating the city more severely than factories ever did. The impact on the economy and the intertwined social issues.
I promoted research on this topic
for over 10 years.
Today, the plant
lies in ruins. So does Mariupol.
Originally from Mariupol (currently under occupation). Lives and worksin Kyiv. Editor-in-Chief of 0629.com.ua and project manager of the Relocated Media Cluster.
As part of the Relocated Media Cluster, Murlykina focuses her efforts on supporting Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territories while telling storiesof the war through the media outlet she leads. She is also the author of the book 'Mariupol. The Last Stronghold', which covers the attempts to declare a sepa-ratist people’s republic in the city. Murlykina has been recognised by the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for her contributions to freedom of speech.
Originally from Mariupol (currently under occupation). Lives and worksin Kyiv. Editor-in-Chief of 0629.com.ua and project manager of the Relocated Media Cluster.
As part of the Relocated Media Cluster, Murlykina focuses her efforts on supporting Ukrainians in temporarily occupied territories while telling storiesof the war through the media outlet she leads. She is also the author of the book 'Mariupol. The Last Stronghold', which covers the attempts to declare a sepa-ratist people’s republic in the city. Murlykina has been recognised by the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for her contributions to freedom of speech.
Anna
Murlykina