Maksym Yakobchuk

The horror story, imbued with the search for the true evil in this world. The most ancient legends of folklore will be recreated from the ancient beliefs about the otherworldly evil of the Kazakh region. Retelling again, they will merge into the realities of our days. We will see Zhestyrnak, Zhalmauyz Kempir and the Ghost from the Kapchagai highway. In their appearance, the heroes of the film will try to recognize the authenticity of evil, which for centuries has cooled blood and deprived of life. But the bitterness of truth itself will find them - "There is no worse in the world - man."

They could not look indifferently at the bloody wounds of Ukraine, did not stand aside when the Ukrainian East fell into darkness. The story of those who became a symbol of the war for independence.

Russian forces looted two museums in Kherson in the fall of 2022 — the Art Museum and the Museum of Local History. As the Russian army retreated amid the Ukrainian counteroffensive, it seized over 33,000 pieces of art and historical artifacts, including Scythian, Gothic, and Sarmatian gold. This heist became the largest in Europe since World War II.

Torture in Russian captivity is systematic. In a new documentary, The Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit uncovers the torture of Ukrainian civilians held by Russian forces and traces the roots of these practices through Russian history. The documentary features civilians from different regions and backgrounds who were detained in occupied Ukrainian territories and in Russia itself. Despite being held at different times and in different locations, their testimonies describe strikingly similar patterns of abuse. By combining firsthand accounts with historical research, the investigation shows how torture has persisted across generations and continues to shape Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Melitopol, a city in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, has traditionally been a hub of religious and cultural diversity. Numerous Christian churches operated there, not only coexisting but also effectively collaborating with one another. Among them, Protestant churches were some of the most active and influential. Immediately following the start of Russia's occupation of Melitopol and the wider region in 2022, local Christians faced repression. Clergy were subjected to searches and interrogations by Russian forces. Eventually, several churches were banned and stripped of all property, including their buildings. Priests were either officially deported or forced to flee under threat, with Russian propaganda often accusing them of stockpiling weapons and ammunition. Believers were forced to go underground.

The documentary follows the story of Iryna's family (name changed), who fled Russian occupation to save her son from possible conscription. Before leaving, representatives of the occupation authorities pressured her to enroll her children in a local school, threatening to send them to an orphanage if she didn't. Another key figure in the investigation, Oksana (name changed), was promised a holiday in Crimea on the Black Sea coast by the occupying authorities. Instead, she was taken to a military training camp in Russia — part of a program established under Putin's initiative after 2022. At the camp, Oksana was taught to dig trenches, operate drones, and carry out tasks under the supervision of Russian military instructors, who in some cases fought in Russia's war against Ukraine.

A rare glimpse into Russia's ongoing terror in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Through personal stories and firsthand accounts, the film's author, Danylo Mokryk, reveals the horrific realities of life under occupation on the east bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson Oblast since 2022. The film uncovers how Russian soldiers and occupational authorities terrorize the local community, including the tragic case of Ruslan Rusnak, who was taken from his home in the village of Hornostaivka and met a heartbreaking fate in November 2023.

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have recorded 292 cases of sexual violence by the Russian military. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg. “He Came Back” is an investigative documentary about sexual crimes that were committed during the Russian occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in early 2022. Two women agreed to tell journalists from the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit about what they went through and how they are seeking justice.

Russia’s current aggression against Ukrainians contains a number of signs of genocide, so the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit decided to investigate the matter. In this documentary, its author, investigative reporter Danylo Mokryk explores whether there is genocidal intent in the actions of the Russian military and officials, as well as in Russian state propaganda. He interviews several scholars whose views oppose one another. William A. Schabas, one of the most renowned scholars in the field, is a skeptic. Eugene Finkel has written an opinion piece stating that the Russian invasion was genocide back in 2022. Dmytro Koval emphasizes that one cannot fully understand Russia’s war in Ukraine if one doesn’t call it genocide.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has used the Olenivka prison, located in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast, as a camp for prisoners of war and civilian hostages from Mariupol. Thousands of Ukrainians, including servicemen from the Azov Brigade, have been held captive in its cells. Those who returned from captivity spoke about the inhumane conditions of detention, hunger, and torture in this prison. For six months, the Kyiv Independent team has been working on recreating a picture of the events that took place in Olenivka. Journalists recorded dozens of interviews with the servicemen and civilians who witnessed gross violations of international law.

Russia seized Crimea in February–March 2014, shortly after the EuroMaidan Revolution, at a time when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had fled the country and the new authorities were just beginning to govern. Many believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin took advantage of the moment and annexed the peninsula. But when did Russia actually first attempt to seize Crimea? And why, long before the annexation — while Russian leaders publicly declared friendship with Ukraine and recognized its territorial integrity — were Russian flags already flying in Crimean cities, Russian warships present, festivals celebrating the Russian language held, and Russia's Empress Catherine glorified across the peninsula? All the while, leading Russian politicians were calling on Crimeans to embrace separatism on television.

In June 2023, there was an explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Several pieces of evidence showed that the Russian military, who were in control of the hydroelectric power plant at the time, had blown it up from the inside. The occupied east bank of Kherson Oblast suffered more than the west bank due to its geography, being lower down the river. Dozens of settlements and summer cottages, where thousands of people lived, were submerged in water. Representatives of the Russian occupying forces did not recognize the scale of the disaster and said that there was no need to evacuate civilians.

Novel film: the story of the interesting life path of one picture and its unusual use at the end.