Welcome to this edition of What about Ukraine?, a newsletter that helps you keep updated about what has been said recently about Ukraine in Ukraine, and in the international media.

We’re taking a step sideways, out of the news for a week, to look at the wider picture: let’s watch documentaries, and in-depth video reportage to see what Russia’s full-scale invasion has done (and is doing) to Ukraine. As obvious as it might seem, it’s not easy to define a documentary, where I come from (France) a documentary means showing reality with a point of view. So dive into this newsletter to see Ukraine from as many points of views as there are creators of documentaries. 

Discover the story of a young Ukrainian man from the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia, who thought war would make a man of him, but also meet a young boy on Italian TV, who says: "War changed me completely, I’ve changed physically, my character has changed, I feel a kind of aggression, and anger in me has increased."

Take time to watch 'Letters from War' by a Ukrainian of Bulgarian origins who shows the thousand faces of Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on the country. Have a look at a touching story of a daughter helping out her mother, after she had to escape the war, which premiered at a German festival. Meet the civilians who became the crew of Tank 27, followed by Spanish news media El País. With the French journalist Gwenlaouen Le Gouil, wonder about the destiny of Ukrainians alleged to have collaborated with the enemy, and who now face charges of treason from both the legal system, and their neighbours.

Also in this edition, check out the ten documentaries produced by Ukrainians in Ukraine that are showcased in an article the Europe-Ukraine desk translated into English this week. Because there’s never enough material to show what is happening in this war. 

Have a good read (and then watch).

Sarah-Lou Lepers
Editor of this week's edition

After years of lack of cash for Ukrainian movies, a state system of financing appeared in 2011, funding film-makers who delivered a successful pitch. Due to the long production process, it started to bear fruit only a couple years before the full-scale invasion: this is when more and more Ukrainian films appeared in cinemas. 

Russia’s full-scale war in 2022 put cinemas around the country on hold for half a year, but not film production. When it comes to documentaries, the opposite happened: this is now blooming. Almost every week a new non-fiction movie is released either in cinemas, or on online platforms like YouTube.

'Us, our pets and the war', the first documentary produced by popular Ukrainian blogger Anton Ptushkin, appeared in early April. Before Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine his travel videos about different countries collected millions of views on YouTube. Two years after February 2022 he released a touching story of pets affected by the war and people eager to help them. The movie was a hit at the box-office in the first week of its release.

Also YouTube is actively used by many media for their documentary releases. The Kyiv Independent, the most important English-speaking online media based in Kyiv, recently released a movie 'Destroy, in whole or in part' by journalist Danylo Mokryk, who interviews experts trying to answer a question: can Russia’s actions against Ukraine be qualified as a genocide? 

Slidstvo.info, an investigative Ukrainian media, has made a film about stories of Ukrainian men sexually abused by Russians. It tells about the abuse of Ukrainians who were under occupation and held in Kherson torture chambers for their active pro-Ukrainian position.

Sharing a Ukrainian point of view on reality has become a question of survival as an article in the Ukrainian media Rubryka writes in a piece translated by n-ost this week:

"Russia has a track record of distorting history and resorting to lies and manipulation to serve its own international policies. Today, the Russian Federation is once again trying to distort reality through film, and trying hard to force their propaganda into the international infosphere, and weaponising their movies against Ukrainians. In Mariupol, a city destroyed by the Russian troops, they filmed a movie about the city’s 'liberation'. Some believe that Ukrainians do not have the tools to counter the Russian propaganda machine, but this is not the case. During the full-scale war, Ukraine has produced many documentaries gathering millions of views and been represented at both Ukrainian and international film festivals. The narrative they’re offering is the truth."

The article shares the ten most interesting and important Ukrainian documentaries about the war published over the last two years. Many of them are available online with English subtitles. 

Translated by Tetiana Evloeva.

Bulgaria

Letters from War, 2024, by Tatiana Staneva (reviewed by DW Bulgaria)

A Kyiv coffee and the documentary ‘Letters from War’, about the thousand faces of Ukraine after the start of Russian aggression in February 2022: this is what Ukrainian director of Bulgarian origin Tatiana Staneva brought back to Bulgaria in February 2024. Her goal is to tell the Bulgarian public the personal stories of many Ukrainian citizens committed to defending their country, their families and their dignity. She puts a particular focus on members of the Bulgarian minority of Ukraine, often far from the media spotlight, even in Bulgaria. "I want to tell the stories of many heroes, who deserve to be known," says Staneva. "Because so many Ukrainian Bulgarians are fighting and dying."

France

"Collabos!" Ukraine at war with its traitors, 2024, by Gwenlaouen Le Gouil (broadcast on Arte)

Covering Ukraine since 2014, journalist Gwenlaouen Le Gouil, winner of the Albert Londres prize in 2007, has followed this relentless fight against traitors as close to the ground as possible. His film takes as its common thread the ordeal of Galina: living in Bucha, in the oblast of Kyiv. This 40-year-old woman was denounced by her neighbours and accused of "horizontal collaboration" after being repeatedly raped by Russian soldiers. Through the insights of Ukrainian intellectuals, a judge, a criminal lawyer, the Minister of Justice and a prisoner, the documentary lifts the veil on this little-known aspect of the conflict, which questions the notion of "collaborator" forged by the legacy of the Second World War.

Ukraine, photographers in the war, 2022, by Julien Boluen and Frédéric Decossas, with Eric Bouvet (broadcast on La Chaîne Parlementaire)

A documentary that follows four experienced photojournalists, emphasising the importance of documenting the war through professional photographs, including the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. By commenting on their images, they provide insight into their lives and the challenges they faced in Ukraine. These photographers discuss the delicate balance between telling the story and respecting the privacy and dignity of the people they photograph, in a war where first images were taken on smartphones by citizens, placing professional photographers in the second wave of witnesses.

Germany 

10 Years of War - How Ukraine fights for its freedom, 2024, by Vassili Golod and Birgit Virnich (broadcast on ARD Mediathek)

"What can be learned from the development of the last ten years?" asks a new ARD documentary about one of Ukraine’s bloodiest days which occurred on Maidan, Independence Square in Kyiv ten years ago. In the film, correspondents Vassili Golod and Birgit Virnich meet people who have been fighting for the self-determination and independence of Ukraine for the last ten years. They accompany Ukrainians in their everyday lives and look back on their past using archive material. 

Home in times of war, 2023, by Inga Pylypchuk (reviewed by rbb)

In 'How Far is Close?', which premiered at the Cottbus Film Festival in November 2023, Inga Pylypchuk portrays the new everyday life she shares with her mother since her arrival in Berlin after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The film delves into the role reversal as the daughter takes on the caregiver role for her mother. "In 1986 she got me, and in 2022 I got her," says the director. Pylypchuk follows their journey, from the moment she picks up her mother from the Polish-Ukrainian border to the start of a new life in the daughter's home. Through intimate moments and conversations their relationship amid uncertainty evolves. As her mother reflects: "Now my daughter has become my eyes and ears, and for that, I am immensely grateful."

Hungary

Nine months of war, 2024, by László Csuja (broadcast by 444.hu)

Does war turn a boy into a grown man? - this is the question asked in 'Nine Months of War', a film by the documentary filmmaker László Csuja, which follows the military service of a boy from the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia on the Russian-Ukrainian front. The film was made after the start of the war in 2014, and before Russia’s full-scale invasion. 24-year-old Jani can't find his place at home in the small Western Ukrainian town Berehove, and he feels he is treated like a child by his family. He thinks of war as what makes him a man. Soon he finds himself on the frontline. His experiences are also seen first-hand by the audience: he took videos with his mobile phone, which are part of the film, as well as the intimate scenes at home. The answer to the basic question of the film is that war does not solve the dilemma of growing up.

Bombed back to the Middle Ages, 2023, by András Földes (broadcast by HvG)

'Ukraine was bombed back to the middle ages, but the Ukrainians laugh at the fleeing Russians' - this may be a long, unusual title for a video report made by reporter András Földes for the newspaper Hvg. The title reflects his experiences of stepping into eastern Ukrainian territories immediately after the liberation in 2022. In Isyum and Kupiansk, people lived without the achievements of civilisation, without water, electricity and internet, and with the invaders' presence for seven months - including threats, torture and the abduction of people. As many ordinary people see it, the Russians' only aim was to destroy them. Their statements also raise the question that sometimes causes conflicts in Ukraine: where does survival end and cooperation with the Russian occupiers begin?

Italy

Voices of Izyum’s children, 2023, by Francesca Mannocchi (broadcast by La 7)

"What does war mean for you?" is a question asked to the children of Izyum, a small town in the Kharkiv region. They recount their stories and how they have changed since the beginning of full-scale invasion, in a long form video report made by journalist Francesca Mannocchi and broadcast in the Propaganda Live tv program. "War changed me completely, I’ve changed physically, my character has changed, I feel a kind of aggression, and anger in me has increased," says a boy living in Izyum. "War is when you are really scared," a 12 year-old girl explains, during the break from a gym class. "My favourite word was love, now it’s peace."

Ukraine: two years in the trenches, 2024, by Riccardo Iacona (broadcasted by Rai)

A video report for the Presa Diretta news program tells about hundreds of women taking to the streets to ask Ukrainian authorities for a more determined search for their husbands, who disappeared in the war. They ask Russians to release them and to have their corpses back if they have died. Journalist Riccardo Iacona then interviewed a Ukrainian soldier released after being imprisoned by Russians: he was beaten and humiliated, and brought in front of a firing squad five times. His inmates wrote on his sole the telephone numbers of their families, asking him to call them and let them know they are still alive.

Spain

Soldiers of Tank 27, 2024, by Monica Ceberio, Cristian Segura, Carlos Martinez and Luis de Vega (broadcasted by El País)

Volodymyr Orenchak worked as manager of a beverage import company in Kyiv. Alexander Karman was a counselor for the emergency services in Talne, his village in central Ukraine. Taras Havrilenko worked in a bakery products company in Smila. "With more breakdowns than missions," a T-72 Soviet tank becomes the central element of the story of three civilians who retrained as soldiers after the Russian invasion. Today, the armoured vehicle no longer exists: it was destroyed during the summer counteroffensive, on the Zaporizhia front. The crew perished. Karman, Orenchak, and Havrilenko were lucky. That day, the vehicle used by them since 2022 was handed over to another team.

Point of no return: sacrifice on the Ukrainian frontline, 2023, by Raúl Gallego (broadcast by TV3)

Awarded with the prestigious Pictures of the Year International 2024 as best Documentary storyteller, Raúl Gallego delves into the lives of soldiers on the Ukrainian front. The film provides insight into the experiences of soldiers, paramedics and veterans who endured the war and continue to fight for their country's survival. A journey from eastern Ukraine to the cemetery through military missions, the retrieval of corpses of soldiers of both armies on the frontline, and the heartbreaking door-to-door notifications of the dead.

The Europe-Ukraine Desk curated this newsletter. This week's edition has been composed by our team all over Europe: Marika Ikonomu, Kornelia Kiss, Katarina Kukla, Sarah Lou Lepers, Oksana Mamchenkova, Francesco Martino, Antonina Rybka and Fermin Torrano.
Michael Bird was our proofreader. 

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