The Invasion

In 2013, the Ukrainian people revolted against their corrupt president, Viktor Yanukovych, a man who professed to be a Putin vassal at heart. On the contrary, the protesters wanted nothing to do with Putin and advocated joining the European Union. Initially, the protests were peaceful, but eventually riot police intervened violently. Many casualties later, Yanukovych had to step down in 2014. Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, a true chronicler of Ukrainian history, was there and recorded the events, resulting in the impressive documentary Maidan.

Now, a decade later, he continues the story. In 2022, the Russians invaded Ukraine to carry out a ‘special military operation’ there - a euphemism for a barbaric, belligerent invasion, which continues to this day. Loznitsa filmed over a two-year period how the civilian population endured that war. He shows determined and resilient people willing to fight for their right to exist until the last gasp.