Some of the reports regarding the crew appear to imply that Chernov and Maloletka were a 2-person team reporting in Mariupol. On other occasions, the narrative included a 3rd person: a 23-year-old woman named Vasilysa Stepanko. But regardless of the team’s actual composition, the documentary footage clearly exposes either narrative as a lie.
Mstyslav Chernov
In Mariupol, Mstyslav worked a video journalist, video editor, interviewer (although he asked very few questions), photographer and writer/contributor for AP News. For the 20 Days in Mariupol “documentary,” Mtsyslav was also the narrator.
Prior to the Mariupol assignment, Mstyslav was a photo journalist and a (fiction) writer. In 2020, Mstyslav published a novel called “The Dreamtime.” An earlier description of this book (which has since been deleted from Chernov’s website) described the novel as being about the “Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014.”
source: https://www.mstyslav.com/dreamtime-nov
In summary: the main reporter of the 20 Days in Mariupol documentary published a fiction book about a Russian invasion of Ukraine 2 years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This doesn’t prove anything, but it is a weird fact.
Evgeniy Maloletka
In Mariupol, Evgeniy worked as a photojournalist, which had been his occupation for several years. Overall, there is not much of interest regarding Evginiy other than the fact that we can confirm from video footage that he was indeed working with Mstyslav in Mariupol.
Vasilysa Stepanenko
According to the official narrative, Vasilysa was a third person on the team who supposedly worked as the producer. For the record, there is NO photo or video evidence that can be used to conclusively prove Vasilysa was actually in Mariupol. The only time we see her in the documentary is when everyone is in the “getaway car” at an unknown location after the team had already left the city.
There is also nothing in Vasylisa’s bio to suggest that she has any background as a producer or a journalist. We only know that she supposedly worked at for a TV station in Kharkiv before accepting Chernov’s invitation to join them for the Mariupol assignment.
Vasylisa claims Chernov then become her mentor, teaching her “how to be a war correspondent” and “how to edit video.” (https://forbes.ua/profile/vasilisa-stepanenko-1215) This is somewhat strange as it not normally a film producer’s responsibility to do either of those tasks.
When asked directly by an interviewer about her role in Mariupol, Vasilysa completely avoided the question and changed the subject. Below is the beginning of how Vasilysa responds:
Interviewer: “Let’s try to explain to our viewers what your role was because sometimes it feels like you are ignored in the trio…you were remembered as an addition to the crew…so lets start explaining what your role was…”
Vasilysa: “Well, you know it was always interesting to me…it felt like the guys were heroes and I was just a girl who was also there…that’s just funny because we worked as one team.”
“So I find this attitude offensive…not only for me but for women in general: if you are a woman and if you are young, then it means you can’t do serious work or be in a war zone. Well, it’s not like that at all, it depends who you are and what kind of person you are and whether you have the strength. I am really proud of Ukrainian women…” and she keeps going, but never answers the question.
Full interview is here (in Ukrainian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BWRqFx3h-g
Concerns about impartiality
To stay impartial, journalists are strongly advised not to intervene in any situation unless (1) immediate intervention is required due to life-threatening danger and (2) there is nobody is else to assist.
Below we have a photo of Maloletka assisting in a non-life-threatening situation in a photo taken by Chernov. There is no reason for Maloletka to intervene in this situation as a second rescue worker is standing right behind him! This photo is basically textbook propaganda.
The photo is published to “Radio Free Europe,” which was originally funded by the CIA to publish anti-Soviet propaganda. It is still fully funded by the U.S. government, and is used to publish pro-Western propaganda in Eastern European countries.
In the photo above, the arrows point to the hand and the leg of the second rescue worker.
source: https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/viyna-mariupil-foto/31861470.html
Although Chernov and Maloletka were often described as Western journalists to gain credibility, they have an obvious anti-Russian bias. Right after the two reporters left Mariupol, one headline blared: “This is personal”
On April 9th, 2022 (roughly 3 weeks after leaving Mariupol), Chernov and Maloletka were part of a crew who interviewed President Zelensky. Curiously, the person who conducted the interview (and clearly had an American accent) was not identified by name. He was simply referred to as an “AP journalist.”
source: https://newsroom.ap.org/editorial-photos-videos/search?query=4375048&mediaType=video&st=keyword
For credibility purposes, it is extremely odd not to name the interviewer. I can’t think of any legitimate reason to do this; the most likely reason is that this person is not a reporter; it’s possible he is an American diplomat working at the U.S. embassy in Kiev.
Although this interview doesn’t prove anything nefarious, it does suggest that Chernov and Maloletka may have been working directly with both the Ukrainian and U.S. governments to produce war propaganda.
Where was Vasiliysa?
Forbes magazine quoted Vasilysa as claiming that she was present at the “first child to die” event, which I discuss in a video.” and further claimed that “it was terrifying.” The trouble with this claim is that there is plenty of video footage and photos from that event which cover all angles of the room, and not once do we see Vasilysa. In fact, I would say that there is beyond a reasonable doubt that Vasilysa was NOT present in the room when the child (supposedly) died. (Watch 20 Days of Deception Episode 2 for more information about this staged event.)
source: https://forbes.ua/profile/vasilisa-stepanenko-1215
On March 9th, Chernov and Maloletka were present to document the aftermath of the maternity hospital bombing. Afterwards, the duo plus police chief Volodymer drive to a certain location to upload their video footage.
As they arrive, they supposedly hear an airplane overhead and rush out of their van to find cover. The video footage clearly shows 3 (and only 3) people jumping out of the vehicle: Chernov, Maloletka, and Volodymer.
So where was Vasilysa?
Potentially, one could make the claim that – for whatever reason – she did not join her team on the day of the maternity hospital bombing. Which means, she must have stayed back at Hospital #2.
But if that was the case, who is the person in the following screenshot holding the phone and wearing the beige pants?
This is a screenshot of footage taken while the crew is watching the two explosions that happened at the maternity hospital. We can see that this mystery person (just like Maloletko) also has the word “PRESS” clearly written on their clothing.
If we are to trust the official narrative (that all other journalists had left the city), then the mystery person must have been Vasylisa. So what happened to her when the rest of the crew went with Volodymer?
Option #1 is that the 23-year-old Vasilysa was left on her own at the maternity hospital bomb site past dark and past curfew while the three men were away uploading photos and videos for AP news. This possibility is insane (and doesn’t really coincide with Vasilysa’s claim that the trio “worked as a team”).
Option #2 (and the only option that makes sense) is that Vasilysa left the bomb scene with somebody else who she and the crew already knew and already trusted. In other words, this trio was not working alone: they were being “helped” and potentially had handlers.
There really is no other way to explain the mystery person, and thus at this point, the official narrative collapses. I.e., they were not 3 independent journalists working alone in Mariupol. On the contrary, the evidence shows that they were working in cooperation with an undisclosed team.