Northern Saltivka — the Most Heavily Shelled District of Kharkiv. Spring 2022.
Photo Credit: Maria Malevska
I stepped on the path of journalism at the age of 15. I started with writing about concerts of famous musicians, and nightlife, and was running a historical newspaper column about the old buildings of Mariupol — all because of the dream to write about traveling.
For the past three years, I have focused solely on the war. Everything has changed. Between 2014 and 2022, I had brief assignments at the front, only to return to "peaceful" stories. Now, anything unrelated to the war feels insignificant, trivial, and lacking in importance.
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Since the summer of 2024, I have been working on numerous stories about the work of military medics at a hospital in Kharkiv. This is both emotionally difficult to shots and to listen to these stories, yet they are also deeply moving. These are places where immense pain and profound love coexist – relatives giving everything for their loved ones, doctors who never stop fighting for life, and patients who find the strength to keep going even in the most difficult circumstances.
Despite everything, I continue to work. Because I can.
My biggest challenge now is exhaustion and fatigue. In the early months of the invasion, we worked on pure adrenaline — we didn't sleep, we didn't eat, and we didn't feel tired. But now, after more than three years of living in this mode, I feel my energy fading. Still, I feel the need and the drive to keep working. It might sound strange, but sometimes I can sleep through shelling — if it's on the other side of the city and not too loud. My body has adapted to such an extent that, when sleep is scarce, it learns to rest whenever possible — even under the most difficult conditions.
I try to stay professional, but it’s not that easy. When I broadcast from the sites of the shelling of residential buildings, hospitals, and other civilian targets, it's difficult to highlight also the "other side of the conflict." Who should I ask to justify a Russian Shahed drone killing a 12-year-old girl in Kharkiv today?
Because I see my mission in documenting all Russia’s crimes — for the world, for the court, and for myself.
The only
Material
Today, when a large part of Ukraine is under occupation, traveling is no longer about leisure — it’s about fighting for the chance to live freely. Now, I travel around Ukraine as a war correspondent, documenting resilience and struggle instead of picturesque landscapes.
STB and ICTV (Ukrainian commercial television networks) correspondent in Kharkiv.
As a TV journalist, Malevska has been covering combat operations in Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014, as well as broadcasting live.
Maria
Malevska