I wish to see more of these stories next year. Be strong. Love. Fight. Survive. Ukrainian families reunite after Russian retreat Some embraced in the middle of the road. Others squeezed hands and choked back tears. Still more sobbed outside their homes. All had yearned for this same moment — to be reunited with their loved ones after Russian troops withdrew from their villages in southern Ukraine. Families were torn apart when Russia invaded in February, as some fled the Russian advance and others hunkered down. Now, many are seeing one another for the first time in months, after Moscow’s latest retreat in the face of a Ukrainian counteroffensive that has retaken a pocket of territory wedged between the regional capitals of Kherson and Mykolaiv and the Black Sea. The most significant withdrawal was from the city of Kherson itself — the only regional capital seized by Moscow’s forces since the invasion — but troops pulled back from nearby villages as well. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion
Grandfather mourns near a dead body of his grandson after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Ukrainian officials say the latest pre-dawn Russian missile attack on Kyiv has killed at least three people, including a 9-year-old child and her mother. (Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #kyiv #photography #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews #politics
Grandfather mourns near a dead body of his grandson after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Ukrainian officials say the latest pre-dawn Russian missile attack on Kyiv has killed at least three people, including a 9-year-old child and her mother. (Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #kyiv #photography #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews #politics
Grandfather mourns near a dead body of his grandson after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 1, 2023. Ukrainian officials say the latest pre-dawn Russian missile attack on Kyiv has killed at least three people, including a 9-year-old child and her mother. (Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #kyiv #photography #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews #politics
Russian troops destroy Marinka. Mariupol, Volnovakha, Popasna, Soledar, Vuhledar, Bakhmut and countless small and large Ukrainian cities and villages were destroyed in the same way this year. Tough, grim anniversary. #ukraine #russia #war #invasion #donbas #marinka #bakmut #mariupol
In a field hospital treating wounded from the bloody battle in Bakhmut, battered, exhausted soldiers are brought in on stretchers, laid out on gurneys as the medical team triages their injuries and sends them off for further treatment or back to the front to continue fighting. Chief of the medical service, Anatoliy, says his team treats dozens of soldiers every day and barely has time to eat. “Medics work practically non-stop. Before the full-scale invasion, we had 50-60 wounded in a nine-month rotation, and now sometimes we have more (than this) in one day,” he said. The fiercely contested city of Bakhmut has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance as defenders hold out against Russia’s relentless shelling and heavy artillery aimed at securing Moscow’s stated aim of taking the whole of Donbas. The scale of the human cost of the battle is evident from the mud-covered, broken bodies that constantly stream into the field hospital. As more and more stretchers are brought into the makeshift operating theatre, medics swarm the injured, cutting off clothing and assessing the damage. In one instance, they carefully remove a grenade from the pocket of a wounded soldier. The work they do so near the front is not without risk. On Saturday heavy shelling hit the hospital, injuring one of the doctors. Laid out on a gurney, medics crowd around Ukrainian serviceman, Vitaliy who goes by the war name “Alpha”. He groans in pain as medics work to try and treat the large deep wound on his arm. “It was a tank shell,” Alpha says. “They (Russians) tried to break through. But they failed. Despite the pain, he smiles and winks at one of the doctors. Video by @mstyslav.chernov #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #medics #bakhmut #video #documentary #news #apnews #politics
Incredible news! 🏆 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL has won Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. For our team this is not an achievement, it is an honor. It is a privilege to represent Ukrainian documentaries and to use this platform to bring attention to the hardships, resilience, and bravery of the Ukrainian people, especially residents of Mariupol. I hope this film will not only generate awareness and support from international society but also serves as a permanent record of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential war crimes that happened in Mariupol. Thank you to the whole team, @frontlinepbs and @apnews #20daysinmariupol #mariupol
Incredible news! 🏆 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL has won Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. For our team this is not an achievement, it is an honor. It is a privilege to represent Ukrainian documentaries and to use this platform to bring attention to the hardships, resilience, and bravery of the Ukrainian people, especially residents of Mariupol. I hope this film will not only generate awareness and support from international society but also serves as a permanent record of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential war crimes that happened in Mariupol. Thank you to the whole team, @frontlinepbs and @apnews #20daysinmariupol #mariupol
Incredible news! 🏆 20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL has won Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. For our team this is not an achievement, it is an honor. It is a privilege to represent Ukrainian documentaries and to use this platform to bring attention to the hardships, resilience, and bravery of the Ukrainian people, especially residents of Mariupol. I hope this film will not only generate awareness and support from international society but also serves as a permanent record of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential war crimes that happened in Mariupol. Thank you to the whole team, @frontlinepbs and @apnews #20daysinmariupol #mariupol
Donbas, May 2024
Police and paramedics cover body of a woman killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.(Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #medics #kherson #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
The long-awaited Ukrainian premiere of “20 Days in Mariupol”. It was sad, anxious, but at the same time heartwarming event. Many of those who were with us in besieged Mariupol, doctors, police, military, who saved the lives of civilians and defended the city, stood with us in the cinema theatre. And they all got standing ovations. I am grateful to the AP and Frontline team for their hard work on the film, to the audience for their sincerity, and to the organizers of Docudays for the opportunity to show our work in Ukraine. Photo: @alexxbabenko @roman_hrytsyna @apnews @frontlinepbs @evgenymaloletka @vasilisastepanenko @michellemizner @_jordumb @derlmcc @raneyaronson #20daysinmariupol
A resident wounded in a Russian attack lies in an ambulance before being taken to a hospital in Kherson, Ukraine, on Nov. 24, 2022. (Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #medics #kherson #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews #politics
Ukrainian servicemen of 68 Oleksa Dovbush hunting brigade fight Russian forces near Vuhledar. The city of Vuhledar in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, has been under constant bombardment, with residential buildings burning and most of its residents evacuated. As Russian forces continue their offensive along the frontline, Ukrainian servicemen hold their ground and hope for better weapons. “They promise tanks, they promise everything. We hope that they deliver what they promise” said one of the servicemen, known as “Vokha.” He added that they don’t know when these weapons will get delivered, and have to “hold our ground with the weapons that we have.” In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its push to fully capture Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. Kyiv and its Western allies also say that Moscow could try to launch a wider and more ambitious attack elsewhere along more than 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) frontline. #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #vuhledar #donbas #documentary #video
Within the city of Vuhledar, in the east of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, marine servicemen fight to keep the land out of Russian hands. Once a populated home, the city has been reduced to abandoned homes and cars, wearing the evidence of prolonged Russian shelling – now empty and destroyed. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its push to fully capture Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland of the Donbas. The Ukrainian servicemen defending the city remain resilient. “We fight for our children, for our fellow Ukrainians, for our nation,” said a Ukrainian marine that goes by the nom de guerre of “Moryak.” “Because I think what Russia is doing now is genocide of Ukrainians. And Ukrainians don’t have another option, but to win. That’s why we fight till the end. Glory to Ukraine,” he added. Despite the constant bombardments and lack of food and water, some residents remain in the town. Resident Emilia Budskaya and her daughter live in a dark basement and have been forced to collect drinking water from a nearby drainpipe, as shelling and combat continues around them. “Today there is the ninth day since my sister died. We feel bad, we don’t know anything. We have no water, nothing, here I’m getting rain water to wash dishes and hands,” said Emilia. Fighting is grinding on in Ukraine after the country marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, with Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reporting dozens of new Russian strikes and attacks on cities in the east and south. Ukraine’s military on Saturday reported 27 Russian airstrikes and 75 attacks from multiple rocket launchers in the most recent 24-hour spell. It said Russian offensive efforts continue to be concentrated in Ukraine’s industrial east and northeast. Video by @mstyslav.chernov #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #medics #vuhledar #video #documentary #news #apnews #politics
As the Russian offensive continues, Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers evacuate immobile patients from the hospitals of the Donetsk region. They transport them from the hospital to a Doctors Without Borders medical train that evacuates patients to safer regions of Ukraine. One of the evacuees is Svitlana Truba, from Slovyansk. «I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave Slovyansk. My heart is breaking. I’m leaving it behind. God, please help Slovyansk, God please help Ukraine, help all of us,» she said. «It’s very important to evacuate people from this region. The fighting still continues, and it’s wintertime. It’s dangerous and cold. The heating networks are getting destroyed,» Oleksandr Lavreniuk, chief of the Ukrainian Red Cross volunteers a quick response team said. Ukraine’s presidential office said Tuesday that Russian shelling killed at least three civilians and wounded another eight over the previous 24 hours as fighting continued in the south and east. Russian forces shelled 17 towns and villages in the Donetsk region, Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Ukraine officials also reported intense shelling and air strikes in Luhansk province, while in the south Russian forces shelled the city of Kherson 13 times over 24 hours, destroying a railway and residential buildings. #ukraine #russia #invasion #donbas #hospital #medicine #redcross #msf #slovyansk #humanitarian
Residents are seen checking and charging their phones at a temporary charging point in Kherson. Currently approximately 75 percent of southern regional capital has electricity back in the houses, according to Ukrainian authorities. (Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #kherson #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews #humanitarian
City workers carry a body of a man killed by Russian shelling in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.(Mstyslav Chernov) #ukraine #russia #invasion #war #medics #kherson #documentaryphotography #documentary #news #apnews
