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The Guardian
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
2000 Meters to Andriivka review – war in Ukraine as an eerie, pin-sharp waking nightmare
Two years ago, the Ukrainian photojournalist and film-maker Mstyslav Chernov stunned us with his eyewitness documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, about Russia's brutal assault on the southern Ukrainian port city. His new film is if anything more visceral, with waking-nightmare images captured in pin-sharp 4K digital clarity. It is a moment-by-moment account of his experience embedded with Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade in 2023 (one of them appears to be a Brit) during Zelenskyy's highly anticipated counteroffensive, making a gruelling journey along what amounts to a two-kilometre corridor of 'forest'. In fact, it is scrubland offering no real cover – but it is free of Russian mines, unlike the areas of farmland either side. The forces brutally fight every metre of the way, heading for the symbolic liberation of the largely ruined village of Andriivka in north-eastern Ukraine. They are carrying a precious Ukrainian flag, and it is their mission to fix this to any broken bit of wall they can find, to proclaim their national spirit is not dead. They are in a wasteland, as one says: 'It's like landing on a planet where everyone is trying to kill you. But it's the middle of Europe.' Chernov is armed only with a camera, to the astonishment of many soldiers he encounters, and the film was constructed by editing his footage together with that of solders' helmet cameras and drone material. Chernov shows us how drones are now utterly ubiquitous in war, delivering both the pictures and the assaults. That is the ultra-modern, even postmodern aspect of this film, but it coexists with an eerie resemblance to the eastern front of the first world war. Chernov, in one of his murmuringly subdued voiceovers, comments: 'The smell of death, explosives and freshly cut trees.' The wrecked landscape does indeed look like 1916, and Chernov does not scruple to show us real dead bodies (but spares us the ultimate horror of the corpses' faces). When the intertitles flash up the grim advances – 1,000 meters to go, 300 metres to go – it is like the cricket-style scoreboard for the Battle of the Somme in Richard Attenborough's film of Oh! What a Lovely War: 'Ground gained: nil.' The most heart-wrenching moments come when Chernov interviews soldiers in a quiet moment, their twentysomething faces alive with intelligence – and in a sombre voiceover tells us how they were killed four or five months later. It is a (repeated) flourish that might be considered on the verge of bad taste, but Chernov manages it with such unflinching conviction. Since the events of this film, Russia has counter-counterattacked and retaken Andriivka; though now we hear Trump has soured on Putin. A Ukrainian soldier surveys the wreck of Andriivka and says: 'Everything will grow back.' 2000 Meters to Andriivka is in UK and Irish cinemas from 1 August.
The Guardian
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
2000 Meters to Andriivka review – war in Ukraine as an eerie, pin-sharp waking nightmare
Two years ago, the Ukrainian photojournalist and film-maker Mstyslav Chernov stunned us with his eyewitness documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, about Russia's brutal assault on the southern Ukrainian port city. His new film is if anything more visceral, with waking-nightmare images captured in pin-sharp 4K digital clarity. It is a moment-by-moment account of his experience embedded with Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade in 2023 (one of them appears to be a Brit) during Zelenskyy's highly anticipated counteroffensive, making a gruelling journey along what amounts to a two-kilometre corridor of 'forest'. In fact, it is scrubland offering no real cover – but it is free of Russian mines, unlike the areas of farmland either side. The forces brutally fight every metre of the way, heading for the symbolic liberation of the largely ruined village of Andriivka in north-eastern Ukraine. They are carrying a precious Ukrainian flag, and it is their mission to fix this to any broken bit of wall they can find, to proclaim their national spirit is not dead. They are in a wasteland, as one says: 'It's like landing on a planet where everyone is trying to kill you. But it's the middle of Europe.' Chernov is armed only with a camera, to the astonishment of many soldiers he encounters, and the film was constructed by editing his footage together with that of solders' helmet cameras and drone material. Chernov shows us how drones are now utterly ubiquitous in war, delivering both the pictures and the assaults. That is the ultra-modern, even postmodern aspect of this film, but it coexists with an eerie resemblance to the eastern front of the first world war. Chernov, in one of his murmuringly subdued voiceovers, comments: 'The smell of death, explosives and freshly cut trees.' The wrecked landscape does indeed look like 1916, and Chernov does not scruple to show us real dead bodies (but spares us the ultimate horror of the corpses' faces). When the intertitles flash up the grim advances – 1,000 meters to go, 300 metres to go – it is like the cricket-style scoreboard for the Battle of the Somme in Richard Attenborough's film of Oh! What a Lovely War: 'Ground gained: nil.' The most heart-wrenching moments come when Chernov interviews soldiers in a quiet moment, their twentysomething faces alive with intelligence – and in a sombre voiceover tells us how they were killed four or five months later. It is a (repeated) flourish that might be considered on the verge of bad taste, but Chernov manages it with such unflinching conviction. Since the events of this film, Russia has counter-counterattacked and retaken Andriivka; though now we hear Trump has soured on Putin. A Ukrainian soldier surveys the wreck of Andriivka and says: 'Everything will grow back.' 2000 Meters to Andriivka is in UK and Irish cinemas from 1 August.
NDTV
23-07-2025
- Business
- NDTV
Ukrainian Forces Test Next-Gen Drones, Catch US Military's Attention: Report
A frontline Ukrainian unit is reportedly emerging as a leader in drone warfare, testing and improving advanced technologies during active combat. As the war with Russia becomes more focused on aerial tactics, the unit's experience is reshaping modern military operations and offering insights to allies such as the US, according to an exclusive in The New York Post. This unit under the 3rd Assault Brigade is leading the way in drone use, effectively using both aerial and ground drones in combat. Its drone operations are shaping the war's trajectory, the report claimed. "This brigade systematically uses assault drones in its operations," said a commander, identified by his callsign "Makar," from the unit. "They close the distance between Russian and Ukrainian troops because they can go farther than is safe for troops," he said. All drones are domestically made and developed in coordination between Ukrainian engineers and frontline soldiers. This real-time feedback system enables quick improvements, making the drones more effective. One major challenge for foreign developers is the lack of opportunity to gain real battlefield experience for their systems in their home countries, Makar said. "They can have a great idea, but they won't know it won't work in modern warfare until they come here. If they come to Ukraine, they can have close contact directly with troops, so changes can be made overnight instead of wasting time," he added. Ukraine's focus on building its own defence industry has led to a major shift. Now 40 per cent of its military equipment is made domestically, with a target of taking it to 50 per cent by next year. This has given Ukraine an edge over the US in some aspects of drone use and strategy. Makar said that his unit was open to collaborating with international weapons manufacturers. Such partnerships, he said, would benefit both sides. While it would give Ukraine access to new technologies, defence companies would receive real-time feedback to refine and certify their products as "battle-tested." Another Ukrainian soldier, who uses the callsign "Acrobat", highlighted the urgency of sharing this knowledge with global allies. According to The Post, he said, "Even if our country is killed, Russia will not stop. It will take these tactics and battlefield knowledge with them as they invade other countries." Ukraine's industrial leaders recognise the importance of these developments in drone warfare. Oleksandr Biletskyi, vice president of the country's League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, highlighted Ukraine's long-standing defence engineering background, saying, "The tank industries, the rocket industry of the Soviet Union, were always done by Ukrainians." Now, Ukraine is showing how frontline experience and innovation can transform not just its own defences, but global military thinking. In the US, the Pentagon appears to be taking notice. As reported by The Post, the US Army recently conducted its first test of a grenade-dropping drone, a tactic already deployed hundreds of times daily in Ukraine.
New York Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Inside the elite Ukrainian combat unit revolutionizing modern drone warfare
KYIV, Ukraine — An elite Ukrainian combat unit is defining the future of warfare by battle-testing new drone technology in real-time — which will provide invaluable insight and opportunity for the US, according to the unit's commander. As the more than three-year war turns to the skies, The Post visited a Ukrainian assault unit, which falls under the elite 3rd Assault Brigade, pioneering land and air drones to use in battle. From ground units that lay mines and fire assault rifles to flying drones that drop grenades, Ukrainian Armed Forces are constantly deploying new technologies — and making regular tweaks to perfect them — on the battlefield. 6 The Post visited a Ukrainian assault unit using advanced land and air drones that are defining the future of warfare. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post 'This brigade systematically uses assault drones in its operations,' a UAF drone unit commander who goes by the callsign 'Makar' told The Post. 'They close the distance between Russian and Ukrainian troops because they can go farther than is safe for troops.' All of the drones used by Makar's unit are designed and produced in Ukraine, where developers have instant access to troop feedback on how to perfect their products. 'These are the most modern weapons because we're doing it in close collaboration with the developers,' Makar said. 'Today, if we are doing some mission and a problem arises, we can send a note to them and they can start rebuilding instantly to address the problem.' It is a prime example of Albert Einstein's classic adage, 'necessity is the mother of invention,' Makar said. 6 All of the drones used by Makar's unit are designed and produced in Ukraine. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post The country also had to shift away from foreign weapons as a result of the pipeline of Western military aid drying up. Kyiv is now making roughly 40% of its own weapons, with a goal to boost that to 50% by next year. As a result, Ukraine has outpaced American drone production and know-how — but they are eager to share their knowledge with the US. 'The main thing is that developers abroad have no way to get their systems battle experience on their own shores,' Makar said. 6 Kyiv is now making roughly 40% of its own weapons. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post 'They can have a great idea, but they won't know it won't work in modern warfare until they come here,' he continued. 'If they come to Ukraine, they can have close contact directly with troops, so changes can be made overnight instead of wasting time.' Makar said his unit is open to partnerships with weapons producers of all nations, calling it a win-win situation. Ukraine could use new technologies in its fight and defense companies could receive regular feedback to improve their weapons, which can then be certified as 'battle-tested.' 6 Makar said his unit is open to partnerships with weapons producers of all nations. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Here is the latest on the Russia-Ukraine conflict It comes as the Pentagon has begun stepping its foot into the world of drone warfare. On Tuesday, the US Army posted to X that it had just conducted its first test of a drone that drops grenades. 6 Ukraine has outpaced American drone production so far. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Meanwhile, in Ukraine, these same tactics and technologies are used hundreds of times per day. 'We want to share,' said another Ukrainian soldier known as 'Acrobat.' 'Because even if our country is killed, Russia will not stop. It will take these tactics and battlefield knowledge with them as they invade other countries.' 6 Ukraine had to shift away from foreign weapons as a result of the pipeline of Western military aid drying up. Caitlin Doornbos/NY Post Oleksandr Biletskyi, vice president of Ukraine's League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said Ukraine's drone developments are also key examples of the country's advanced engineering — which has long been native to this region. 'The tank industries, the rocket industry of the Soviet Union, were always done by Ukrainians,' he said. Now, with the conflict becoming the first example of modern warfare, the Ukrainian defense industry is further revolutionizing defense engineering by working hand-in-hand with frontline troops.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘The soldiers want you to see what they're going through': the heartbreaking follow-up to 20 Days in Mariupol
It was in Sloviansk, in the rear of eastern Ukraine's frontline, that I first met journalist and film-maker Mstyslav Chernov. It was the autumn of 2023 and he was telling me about the film that would later win him and his team an Oscar: 20 Days in Mariupol, a horrifying documentary assembled from the news footage he and his team had gathered there, in the first month of the full-scale invasion. That September day of our interview, though – amid what would turn out to be Ukraine's disappointing counteroffensive of 2023 – he was making his second film, one that took him to the heart of the combat zone, called 2,000 Meters to Andriivka. It is, if anything, even more powerful than its predecessor: a piece of frontline reporting that truly deserves the name, its footage gathered from soldiers' own bodycams as well as from Chernov and his small crew on the ground among them. He puts the viewer into the trenches alongside the combatants. It is terrifying, bloody and heartbreakingly sad. You will not emerge from this film unchanged. The soldiers on whom Chernov focuses are members of Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade. They have a mission: to liberate the village of Andriivka, in the Donetsk region, and hoist the blue-and-yellow flag above it. Their sole route to this village is through a narrow strip of forest with flat, open fields either side. The wood, with its sketchy cover, is both their protection and, in many cases, their grave. The painful, dangerous advance through this 2km provides the structure of the film. And yet, for all that the film borrows the conventions of a thriller for its propulsive plotline, it is its tenderness, both in its gaze and in the relationships between the men that it depicts, that really destroyed me. This tenderness, this melancholia, is partly a result of what happened after the shoot, Chernov tells me: during the months of editing, most of the men he focused on were killed. In the film they do indeed raise the flag over Andriivka, or what was left of it, which was piles of abject rubble. But in 2024 it was lost again. And so 2,000 Meters to Andriivka may be a thriller of sorts. But on a deeper level, it is a lament and a memorial. 'The film slowly became more about honouring memory, honouring names,' says Chernov. The news of the deaths trickled in while he was standing on red carpets for 20 Days in Mariupol. One reached him while he was in London picking up a Bafta. 'There was always guilt,' he says, 'there was always a feeling of the absurd to know what's happening with those men and boys while I was experiencing the normality of the world outside Ukraine.' He talks about the Ukrainian premiere of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka, in Kyiv in May. The relatives of the dead men came. They had not seen the movie in advance. One of the characters, whose callsign, or military nickname, was Sheva, talks about his wife in the film. After the screening – which was followed by a 10-minute standing ovation – that woman came to Chernov, he says, and told him: 'Thank you: now I will be able to show his grandson who his grandfather was.' He adds: 'I could strip this film down to one basic meaning: which is of being able to salvage at least pieces of these people's lives, for their families.' What is so touching about the moments in which we get to know Sheva is that he comes across as anything but conventionally heroic. He even asks Chernov to stop filming him: he hasn't done anything worth recording yet, he says. But despite his evident fear, he is doing it anyway: which some might say is the definition of true bravery. One night in Kyiv, a Ukrainian friend asked me if I thought the film was anti-war. It is a good question. It is clear from Chernov's work that he hates war – and he told me so, in so many words. But to call it anti-war would be a category error. It is true that there is absolutely no glory in 2,000 Meters. It is true that it dares to show us the pain of wounded men, their deaths, ordinary humans, who had ordinary jobs before the invasion, bleeding out for a few metres of Ukrainian soil. It is true that the men's goal might seem futile – raising a Ukrainian flag over a pile of ruined houses is a strange kind of 'liberation' for the village of Andriivka, which has become a mere name, rather than any kind of community. But Chernov shows deep respect and empathy for the fighters who, with tight-lipped determination, are trying to fend off Russia's violent and pointless aggression. War came to them – to their homes, to their families, to their land – and they are having to fight it. The camera lingers on the breathtaking, big-skied landscapes of eastern Ukraine: expansive forests, glorious steppe, stretches of it burned and scarred by trenches and tanks beyond recognition. The film unfolds not far from Chernov's native city of Kharkiv, 18 miles (30km) from the Russian border. 'This is the landscape of my childhood,' he says. 'This is what you see when you go to your grandmother's village house, and then you run off to a field and steal some corn when you're hungry, or play hide and seek in the forest with your friends. These landscapes are part of our DNA.' That connection was partly what made him and his crew take cameras and move among the fighters in the thick of the battle, at great risk to their lives. 'This film could have existed purely in its bodycam form,' he says, 'but it was incredibly important for me to actually walk on that ground, to experience those landscapes and to feel how they changed. To feel the pain and the anger and the surprise that I can't recognise them any more, that I feel that I'm on another planet, that I feel that I am in forests of Verdun 100 years ago, rather than next to my home town.' Specific the landscape may be, but Chernov talks too about finding inspiration in the first world war paintings of Paul Nash – particularly We Are Making a New World, whose shell-pitted northern French landscape could be straight out of the Donetsk region. I am reminded, too, of another bleak painting in the Imperial War Museum: Christopher Nevinson's Paths of Glory. It shows two British soldiers face down, dead, in the forest. It was banned at the time by British censors: dead German soldiers were acceptable in a painting, but dead British soldiers were not. Chernov's film, I am absolutely sure, would not have survived that kind of censorship. It is too raw, too tragic. It shows the death of Ukrainian men, though, after debates in the edits, the screen mercifully blacks out during the moments of oblivion – an effect akin to the way you can't help closing your eyes in fear, Chernov says, when something explodes near you. The film has a deep moral purpose: it wants to show the reality of war, beyond the positive political speeches and the Ukrainian media's 'avoiding of difficult news'. 'There is an acknowledged problem,' says Chernov, 'and that's probably the problem that's troubling the Ukrainian soldiers the most right now. It's not the lack of support by the US. It's not the fact that Russia is clearly not prepared to finish this war. It's not the fact that the soldiers [will] probably need to stay at the frontline for years and keep fighting and losing their friends. It's the fact that part of Ukrainian society has distanced itself from the soldiers.' It is true: spending time in Ukraine, it is clear this is a subject of deep national anxiety. People worry, with justification, how the gaps in experience between them – between those on the frontline, those with family members fighting, those who are refugees, those who have avoided the draft – will ever be stitched together. Chernov tells me about a special screening he held for soldiers that happened to be in an ordinary Kyiv multiplex, where the other visitors were eating popcorn and watching blockbusters. 'I could see the faces of the soldiers that came out from the cinema after watching 2,000 Meters,' he says. 'And they said to me, 'Mstyslav, we want these people to go and see 2,000 Meters. We want them to know what we are going through.'' The film is, he says, all about distance. Those perilous 2km to Andriivka, of course, but also implicitly about 'the 3,000km to Paris. About what Russian TV tells its own people: that it would take a Russian tank only 24 hours to get to the Bundestag. Or 20 minutes for a Russian nuclear missile to fly to London.' And the distance between the combatants' beating hearts and the viewers of the film – which is zero. 2,000 Meters to Andriivka is out on 1 August
