In 2016 he shared a Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography for coverage of the European migrant crisis.
In 2017, he was awarded the Robert Capa Gold Medal (shared with Bryan Denton) for his coverage of the war in Iraq.
[3] According to James Nachtwey, "Sergey (Ponomarev')s visual perception operates at a very high level.
He has the ability to organize what he perceives in a compelling, complex manner using the full range of photographic vocabulary with great mastery.
"[3] Ponomarev opposes the Russian invasion of Ukraine and left Russia on 1 March 2022, flying to Istanbul.