Ukrainian soldiers' humanitarian mission in Kursk showcased in film

On Tuesday, April 15, a documentary film titled "Little People Who Started a Big War" was presented in Kyiv, showcasing how Ukrainian soldiers rescued civilians in the Kursk region from Russian attacks. Espreso correspondent Natalia Starepravo reported this.

The film captures how Ukrainian soldiers helped residents of Kursk, who were affected by Russian bombings, providing them with food, medical aid, and evacuating them from dangerous zones.

The film was shot over the course of eight months. The director, Pavlo Neuhodov, an officer in the Communication Department of the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, led the project.

The director mentioned that he and the TDF soldiers were sent to the military command in the Russian territory, where they were tasked with communication with locals and filming the events taking place there.

Neuhodov noted that on February 1, Russians directly hit the location where locals lived, specifically a boarding school in the town of Sudzha.

"This is the final story in our film. We wanted to highlight the difference between them and us… We really wanted to do screenings abroad. They need to hear and see the difference," emphasized the officer.

The events demonstrated in the film were also commented on by Ruslan Hryshchuk, the commander for humanitarian issues in the military command in Russian-occupied territory. He explained that the main task of Ukrainian soldiers in the humanitarian mission was to provide civilians with food, hygiene items, warmth, water, and all necessary essentials for their survival in inhumane conditions.

"The cynicism of the Russian government shocked us the most – abandoned civilians, abandoned children, abandoned hospitals, abandoned schools, and all of it cynically destroyed by Russian troops," he shared.

Despite all the horrors inflicted by Russia on Ukrainians, the commander added, Ukrainian soldiers and state act according to international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions.

"Locals, especially the elderly, mostly communicated with us in Ukrainian. The attitude was either friendly or neutral. It became more positive when they saw the Ukrainian soldier, who is not the one dividing them into organs, but the person who brings them food, water, clothes, and gives his last to help these people survive in those conditions," Hryshchuk said.

Film still from "Little People Who Started a Big War", photo: Espreso/Natalia Starepavо

• On April 15, it became known that the Ukrainian documentary "Militantropos," which explores the image of a person during war, was included in the Directors' Fortnight program, a parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival.