World Press Photo apologizes for pairing photos of traumatized by war Ukrainian child and Russian fighter

The World Press Photo contest jury issued a formal apology for creating what critics called a “false equivalence” by pairing photographs of a wounded Russian-backed militant from Donetsk and a traumatized Ukrainian child from the Kharkiv Oblast.

The World Press Photo Contest is an annual competition showcasing the best in photojournalism and documentary photography. Established in 1955, it has grown into a globally recognized event, celebrating visual storytelling across diverse themes such as conflict, migration, climate change, and human resilience.

Both photos won the 2025 contest in the Single Image category but were criticized for diminishing the unique suffering of the Ukrainian child by presenting it alongside the perspective of the Russian soldier.

The winning photos in question include German journalist Nanna Heitmann’s “Field Hospital,” depicting a wounded militant in Russian-occupied Donetsk who fought against Ukraine, and German correspondent Florian Bamaier’s image of six-year-old Anhelina suffering panic attacks from shelling in her home in Borshchivka, Kharkiv Oblast. 

The competition jury, which was headed this year by Finbarr O’Reilly, an Irish-Canadian photographer, a permanent author for The New York Times, called these two images a “visual pair”.

In a response to Ukraine’s Detector Media, the organization acknowledged the problematic nature of the pairing, stating there is an “obvious difference between a child suffering from the consequences of war and the torments of a soldier of occupying forces who causes these sufferings.”

“We should not have presented these two photographs as a pair, as this implies they should be viewed and understood only in dialogue with each other. This creates an overly simplified and false equivalence and pushes into the background the story that each of them unfolds on its own,” said international jury chair Lucy Conticello, Detector Media reports.

Earlier, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the photo pairing as “the worst example of false moral equivalence between the aggressor and those defending against aggression,” according to ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi.

Russian state media photographer won award for covering protests in Georgia

Moreover, the organization also addressed criticism regarding its award to Russia’s TASS photographer Mikhail Tereshchenko for his coverage of protests in Georgia.

While acknowledging Georgian photographers’ outrage that a Russian state media photographer received recognition, World Press Photo maintained the work “was selected on its own merits — regardless of the identity of the photographer or his employer.”

Tereshchenko is part of the Kremlin pool of journalists accredited to cover Russian government activities. Ukrainian media professionals labeled his award an example of “ethical blindness,” while Georgian photojournalists accused the competition of legitimizing Russian propaganda.

The World Press Photo emphasized that its judging process evaluates entries anonymously, with jury members initially unaware of photographers’ identities or employers. 

The organization also explicitly rejected Tereshchenko’s characterization of Mariupol’s “liberation” in a post-award interview, affirming instead that “Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” “Russian bombings destroyed Mariupol,” and “Mariupol remains under Russian occupation.”

They committed to improving their procedures for handling submissions from photographers working for state institutions, particularly those from countries with repressive regimes.