Public radio’s longest-running daily global news program.AboutContactDonateMeet the TeamPrivacyTerms of use©2026 The World from PRXPRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402.New film shows reality on the ground as Ukrainians battle for the village of AndriivkaAs the war in Ukraine continues, The World’s Host Marco Werman speaks with filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov about the new documentary “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” produced by our partners at FRONTLINE and The Associated Press.17:07Ukrainian servicemen walk through a charred forest at the front line a few kilometers from Andriivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sept. 16, 2023. Ukrainian brigade’s two-month battle to fight its way through a charred forest shows the challenges of the country’s counteroffensive in the east and south.US and Ukrainian officials wrapped up talks in Geneva today. Both sides said they’d made “progress” on a plan to end the war.It’s still not clear exactly what has been agreed to, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described this juncture as “critical.”A joint statement issued today by European foreign policy officials does mention security guarantees for Ukraine. It says, “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine … will shape European security for generations.” And it concludes that “peace cannot be achieved by yielding to or rewarding the aggressor.”Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said the talks were a step in the right direction.Meanwhile, the fighting on Ukraine’s front line has not let up. A new film, “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” which premiers Tuesday night on PBS, shows what that actually looks like. It was produced by our partners at FRONTLINE and The Associated Press — the team that previously made the Oscar-winning documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.”Filmmaker Mstyslav Chernov spoke with The World’s Host Marco Werman earlier this month about the new film that he shot on the frontlines, mostly in 2023.The 3rd Assault Brigade announced they had recaptured the war-ravaged settlement which lies 10 kilometers south of Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, in the country’s embattled east, Andriivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sept. 16, 2023.Courtesy of Mstyslav ChernovYeah, I mean, the geography of the story is really important. The way into Andriivka is through a 2,000-meter strip of forest, a very narrow strip of forests, which we see in this very impressive drone shot at the start of the film, surrounded on both sides by minefields popped with craters. In one part of the film, where you head out with the soldiers, you mention that a soldier says, “It’s like landing on a planet where everything is trying to kill you but it’s not another planet … it’s the middle of Europe.” So, describe the terrain, Mstyslav, of this forest and the fighting that you saw there.It did feel like another planet. And, you know, the thing is that this land, these fields, this little forest that are splitting fields, they are so familiar to me. This is the land of my childhood. Those are the same places you go to see your grandmother, who lives in a village just like Andriivka. Those are the fields where you run and those are the forests where you play hide-and-seek with your childhood friends.And then you arrive there and you see them all scarred with trenches, mutilated with craters from the bombs, and there’s constant buzzing of drones trying to drop a grenade on you. There is constant whistling of bullets and shells over your head. You just move through that terrain and you’re trying to recognize something that you know, but you can’t. And that makes you so angry, that makes you want to tell [the] story of that land.And the saddest part is that when you cross that forest, when you walk all this way with the soldiers, and then when you arrive to the village, then you realize that the village is also destroyed by war, destroyed by bombs and what they are liberating is the name and the symbol.Kobzar, a Ukrainian serviceman, practices shooting during preparation for the next military operation of the 3rd Assault Brigade. Five months later he will be killed.Courtesy of Mstyslav ChernovYou know in the very beginning, again, I thought very much about my own community, about the soldiers who, in normal life, if the war wasn’t there, would be my friends, would be my colleagues, one of them is from the rival university, you know, so just connection with these men and trying to tell their story and their perspective and their struggle and trying to show how Ukrainians really pushed back.But over the year, it became so much more and some of them, unfortunately, died later and it became so important for me to save their stories for their families. I think it’s very important for all of us to see what the realistic experience of soldiers [is], how unacceptable, how terrible the war is, what modern warfare is right now. So, potentially what American soldiers would go through, and potentially what European soldiers would go through if Russia attacks Europe. So, it tells more than the story of Ukrainian soldiers. Right now, it tells the story of what could happen to any of us if the world slides to war.They make it to Andriivka and it is horrifying because, while Russians are retreating from Andriivka, they are indiscriminately firing on it with artillery, just because Ukrainians are now in it and they are destroying whatever was left of it. And there is hardly a place to raise the flag.And so, we are sitting in this basement and we’re pounded by artillery. Strikes and stones from the remains of the house falling on our helmets, and we’re just waiting for artillery to stop hitting us, to run out and film how the Commander “Fedia” raises the flag over the village. And that’s liberating in one way, in a way that the goal was finally achieved and it’s sad at the same time, because the village is destroyed.But you see the optimism there is in the eyes of these soldiers. You see optimism, irrational optimism, and you hear the rational optimism in their words when they say, “This is all going to be rebuilt, this village will be rebuilt one day.” And I truly believe that it will take a lot of time.I think the victory for a soldier is fulfilling their task and giving hope. The picture of the flag is almost as important as the liberated village itself, because they know that the picture of the flag will go so far, will go to every home in Ukraine, to millions of people, and will give these millions of people hope.They’re not fighting for the village, they’re fighting for their home. If I had to fight for a house that I built with my hands and somebody came and destroyed it, I would still fight for the ruins until the end because that is where I grew up. That is where my family lived. And there is no other answer to that.In this image taken from a video released by the 3rd Assault Brigade, a Ukrainian serviceman fires a machine gun toward Russian positions near Andriivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Aug. 27, 2023.AP/FIle photoI strongly disagree with you here. You say it’s going nowhere, but I have to tell you that if you think about this war as a conflict or invasion or a contest for kilometers, that seems to go nowhere. But remember this, this is a war for survival. Russians are just there to get more land and for them it seems to be going nowhere. But Ukrainians are there to survive. This is just a pure fight for life. Someone came to kill you and you are trying to survive and make sure that you and your family are not killed. That is not a war for kilometers. There is not a war that doesn’t make sense. It is actually a war where you either live or you die, and Ukrainians are choosing to fight for their lives. It’s just a matter of perspective. It’s a matter of survival for each of us. And if we give up, then we die. And I don’t want to die. I don’t want my family to die, I don’t want my community to die, I don’t want my city to be occupied. And so, yeah, it is what it is. It is terrible. But, at least we’re alive.This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.