Ukrainian partisans: a movie about resistance during the war

Ukrainian partisans

The documentary Unconquered. Ukrainian Partisans” tells the real stories of brave Ukrainians who have been organizing a resistance movement in the temporarily occupied territories since the beginning of 2014.

The film will premiere on February 27 on ICTV2 at 19:00 and on
YouTube channel of MIR&CO PRODUCTION
which produced the film.

The purpose of the film is to comprehensively show the resistance of the Ukrainian people against the war and the forced occupation by the Russian Federation. And also to demonstrate to the world once again how united Ukraine is in its desire to live in an independent, sovereign, free and peaceful state.

“Having decided on a full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation expected a quick and easy capture of Ukraine. However, the Kremlin underestimated those who were supposed to be easy prey. The world was fascinated by the heroism of ordinary Ukrainians. We decided to tell a part of the story of the great resistance,” says Kyrylo Nechmona, the film’s producer.

The film was directed by Myroslav Hai. In civilian life, he is known as a journalist, blogger and acting teacher. Since the Maidan, Myroslav has been defending Ukraine from the invaders, and later he was one of the first to volunteer for the National Guard and go to the hot spots. Since the outbreak of the full-scale war, Myroslav has also been an active participant in the fighting, taking part in the liberation of Zmiinyi Island and, together with a friend, personally installing the Ukrainian flag on a TV tower in Sloviansk.

“The film was inspired by a meeting with a real Ukrainian partisan. He crossed the border of the temporarily occupied territory dozens of times. He existed and communicated with others within the framework of his “legend”, leading the occupiers by the nose. At the same time, he is an absolutely ordinary person who has no military profession, he is just a true patriot and hero,” says Myroslav.

The main characters of the documentary are real partisans who are actively working in the Russian-occupied territories of eastern and southern Ukraine, helping the Ukrainian army. Being close to the occupation repressive authorities, they constantly report the coordinates of ammunition depots and military bases, as well as inform about the whereabouts of Russian soldiers and their movements.

The film also shows how members of the guerrilla movement eliminate collaborators in various ways: some of them mysteriously die from explosions in their own homes or cars, are shot or poisoned. Volunteers are skillfully blowing up bridges and railway stations used by the occupiers. The guerrillas are also engaged in non-violent resistance, also risking their lives – everywhere in the occupied territories you can see Ukrainian symbols and propaganda letters distributed by them, the main recipients of which are the occupiers.

“While we were making this film, we realized that the scale of the resistance movement is only growing, and that the Russians cannot establish control over the occupied regions. The heroes of our film demonstrate to the invaders in every possible way that they are not welcome here. And their actions not only demoralize the occupiers, but also morally support the Ukrainian people who remain under occupation,” adds Kyrylo Nechmonya.