AP’s Mstyslav Chernov named young talent of the year at RTS Television Journalism Awards

Chernov, 29, joined AP as a regular freelancer in May 2014, originally working as a researcher in eastern Ukraine using his expertise in his homeland and his background in photography to help develop vivid stories about the conflict in the country. Chernov honed his video skills from other AP staffers who covered the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and quickly proved that he could also become a valuable contributor to AP’s photo and text report.

On his second day working solo as a multiformat journalist, an airstrike hit the town of Shizhne and his footage of the aftermath focused with impressive detail on the collapse of a single damaged house. Two days later, he covered the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine. He arrived at the crash site at dusk and filmed in an area of intense fighting, providing AP’s first images quickly via his iPhone before sending full coverage later. Chernov’s reporting on the circumstances surrounding the crashed plane played a central role in AP’s text coverage of the event.

“Through his involvement in some critical stories, Chernov has quickly proved himself to be a rare, multiformat journalist with an uncanny ability to develop a story in the most difficult conditions,” said Caro Kriel, European news director for AP. “He is a natural visual storyteller and his signature trait - compassion for humanity that suffuses almost every image - has ensured that his work has had an immediate impact.

She added: “We are very proud of his accomplishment. He continues to learn and grow on the job and we look forward to seeing what he achieves in the future.”