Wednesday, June 11. Russia's War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine
Culture Front.
'Animals in War,' a feature film anthology of seven shorts based on real events during Russia's war on Ukraine, premiered at New York's Tribeca Festival on June 8. Each episode, including one starring a Hollywood star Sean Penn, centers around a story about animal and human compassion. The vignettes, each directed by a different Ukrainian filmmaker, also capture the mundane realities of life during wartime with insight and sensitivity, underscoring the tragedy of Russia's aggression. The film's producers, Oleksiy Makukhin and Oleg Kokhan, are seeking worldwide distribution for the anthology.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 08: (L-R) Andrew Molina, Byron Werner, Adam Sigel, Anna Poltavets, guest, ... More Oleksiy Makukhin, Daria Marchenko, Oleg Kokhan, Bohdan Melnychuk, Sergiy Kuzyara, guest, Natalia Glubokova, and Vyacheslav Steshenko attend the "Animals In War" premiere during the 2025 Tribeca Festival at Village East Cinema on June 08, 2025 in New York City. (Photo byfor Tribeca Festival)
The documentary "Our War" by Bernard-Henri Lévy and Marc Roussel, which captures the filmmakers' journey through the war-torn regions of Pokrovsk and Sumy in eastern Ukraine, will be screened at the Quad Cinema in New York's West Village on June 11. Striving to provide a broader context, the film draws from Lévy's personal archives to highlight pivotal moments in Europe's first large-scale war since 1945.
A contemporary Ukrainian theater production from Kyiv, 'The Witch of Konotop,' begins its North American tour on June 22 with two New York City shows. A modern reimagining of a classic Ukrainian story, the dark musical comedy is directed by Ivan Uryvskyi. After a successful European tour, 'The Witch of Kontop' will also have performances in Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal.
Ukrainian rock band Vopli Vidoplyassova is bringing its 40th anniversary tour to 14 cities in North America, launching on June 18 in Montreal. Emerging from the underground music movement during the last decade of the USSR, VV and its frontman, Oleh Skrypka, became a symbol of Ukrainian identity, resilience, and creative freedom. The June 25 New York show will feature the Eugene Hutz trio, an international rock star with roots in Kyiv.
The Metropolitan Opera has announced that the new opera 'The Mothers of Kherson' will be presented during the 2027-28 season. On June 2, the Metropolitan Opera in New York presented the first excerpt from Mothers of Kherson. This new opera tells the story of Ukrainian mothers attempting to rescue their children from Russian deportation. Composed by Ukrainian musician Maksym Kolomiiets and written by American playwright George Brant, the opera is based on real accounts of women from Kherson.
The world premiere is set for October 2026 at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw. The Metropolitan Opera will stage the production in its 2027–2028 season. Soprano Erin Morley will take on a leading role, with Keri-Lynn Wilson conducting and Barbara Wysocka directing.
Edited by Karina L. Tahiliani
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