FRONTLINE: Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack

In February 2022, Russia launched a military assault on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city. While many expected the city to fall within days, the Ukrainians refused to surrender. Thus began a prolonged battle and a full-scale invasion that stunned the world and unleashed the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Filmed during the first three months of the attack, Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack provides a powerful inside portrait of the civilians and first responders who chose not to evacuate but to remain and defend the city. Filmmakers Mani Benchelah and Patrick Tombola embedded themselves for almost ten weeks with ordinary Ukrainians near the frontline, risking their own safety to tell the stories of displaced families trying to survive in makeshift bomb shelters while facing crippling uncertainty, unimaginable stress, and fallout from near constant shelling. The result is an intimate and searing look at daily life in a war zone. The film’s impact cannot be underestimated, as it delivered to international audiences some of the first footage of Ukrainian resistance and resilience, conveyed with raw emotion and authenticity in their own words. For its vivid testament to the incredible bravery of the people living through a war with no end in sight, we award Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack with a Peabody.