>>> NOW, ONCE RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE MARIUPOL IN THE SOUTH WAS BESIEGED.

A TEAM FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WAS THE ONLY INTERNATIONAL REPORTERS TO REMAIN IN THE CITY.

WHAT THEY CAPTURED MADE HEADLINES AROUND THE WORLD, EXPOSING THE ATROCITIES BEING COMMITTED BY RUSSIAN FORCES THERE.

MSTYSLAV CHERNOV WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER ON THAT TEAM AND HE HAS DOCUMENTED THE HARROWING EXPERIENCE IN A NEW FILM "20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL."

HERE IS A CLIP FROM THE TRAILER.

>> RUSSIANS HAVE ENTERED THE CITY.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN AND WE HAVE TO TELL ITS STORY.

>> THAT WAS MORE THAN A YEAR AGO AND THE PAIN AND HORROR OF THIS UKRAINIAN STORY IS NOWHERE NEAR OVER.

MR. MSTYSLAV CHERNOV IS JOINING HARI SREENIVASAN TO DISCUSS THE SIEGE OF MARIUPOL AND ITS AFTERMATH.

>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

YOUR FILM, "20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL," DOCUMENTS WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THE RUSSIANS INVADE THE.

FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT KNOW, WHERE IS MARIUPOL SO SIGNIFICANT?

>> STARTING FROM 2014, RUSSIA HAVE TRIED TO OCCUPY MARIUPOL IN THE VERY BEGINNING OF RUSSIA'S INVASION TO UKRAINE.

IT IS A PORT CITY.

A HUGE PORT CITY WITH HUGE INDUSTRIAL -- IT WAS, UNFORTUNATELY, BECAUSE IT NOW IS DESTROYED, A HUGE INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND TACTICALLY, IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT IS DIRECTLY ON THE WAY FROM RUSSIA TO OCCUPIED CRIMEA.

SO, ON THE POINT OF LOGISTICS, FROM A SYMBOLIC POINT OF VIEW, THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CITIES IN UKRAINE FOR RUSSIA TO TRY TO OCCUPY.

>> YOU WERE THERE IN THE VERY BEGINNING.

WE ARE TALKING BACK IN FEBRUARY OF 2022.

AND YOU CAPTURED A LOT OF THE ANXIETY OF THE PEOPLE THERE.

DESCRIBE WHAT THEY WERE GOING THROUGH, KNOWING THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CITY THAT RUSSIA WILL WANT AND THEY ARE COMING.

>> I THINK IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS A LOT OF HOPE AND AS JOURNALISTS, TOO, THERE WAS A LOT OF HOPE THAT EVEN IF THERE WILL BE A SIEGE, IT WILL BE NOT SO DESTRUCTIVE.

SO IT CAUGHT US ALL BY SURPRISE THAT RUSSIANS DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO BE CAREFUL.

IT WAS JUST INDISCRIMINATE BARRAGE OF ALL KINDS OF BOMBS AND WEAPONS.

AS SOON AS THE RUSSIAN FORCES UNDERSTOOD THAT THEY CAN'T TAKE MARIUPOL EASILY, THAT UKRAINIAN FORCES WILL BE FIGHTING FOR EVERY SINGLE INCH OF THEIR LAND, RUSSIA JUST STARTED TO DESTROY EVERY BUILDING IT THAT WAS ON THE WAY.

SO AS SOON AS THE SIEGE WENT TO FULL MODE, THE POWER LINES WERE CUT OFF.

THERE WAS NO WATER.

FOOD -- NO FOOD SUPPLIES.

THEREFORE, LOOTING HAS STARTED.

AND IT WAS JUST PURE CHAOS.

IT WAS VERY HARD TO OPERATE FOR THE CITY WORKERS.

IMAGINE A CITY WHICH IS CONSTANTLY GETTING BOMBARDED BUT DOESN'T HAVE A PHONE LINE TO CALL THE AMBULANCE.

THEREFORE, IF YOU ARE INJURED, YOU DIE.

IT WAS HORRIBLE.

AND THE WORST THING, THERE WAS NO CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE.

SO THE SOCIETY JUST COLLAPSED.

THAT WAS DELIBERATE TACTICS.

AND WE, AS JOURNALISTS, WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF ALL THIS.

>> YOU MADE AN ACTIVE DECISION IN MAKING, CRAFTING THE FILM, TO CENTER IT AROUND CIVILIANS, AND THERE ARE SO MANY GRIPPING SCENES IN THERE.

THERE WAS A SCENE WHERE YOU START FOLLOWING A WOMAN FROM A MATERNITY HOSPITAL.

>> WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

>> WE WERE HIDING FROM THIS AIRPLANE THAT WAS BOMBING THE AREA IN A BILLING WHICH WAS NEARBY.

AND WE SAW THAT THE HOSPITAL WAS BOMBED.

BOMBED.

AND LATER AFTER THE BOMBING HAPPENED, WE WENT THE BUILDING AND SAW THE FIRE AND THE HOSPITAL.

SO WE RAN THERE AS FAST AS WE COULD BECAUSE WE KNEW IT'S A HOSPITAL.

AND THE SCENE THAT WE ARRIVED THERE WAS SHOCKING.

MOST OF THE PEOPLE WERE ALREADY EVACUATED, BUT THERE WERE STILL A LOT OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND RESCUE WORKERS AND EVERYTHING WAS DESTROYED.

AND THEN I SAW RESCUE WORKERS CARRYING A WOMAN, HER NAME IS IRINA, SHE WAS 32 YEARS OLD, SHE WAS PREGNANT, AND THEY WERE CARRYING HER AND SHE HAD THIS TERRIBLE WOUND ON HER PELVIS.

THERE WAS A SILENCE, DEAFENING SILENCE, LIKE A RING IN MY EARS LIERKS AFTER THE BOMB EXPLODES, RIGHT?

IN THE FILM WE REALLY TRIED TO TRANSFER THE AUDIENCE THERE IN THAT MOMENT.

THIS JUST RUN TOWARDS THE AMBULANCE, IT WAS SO -- IT SEEMED SO ENDLESS, SO LONG, ALTHOUGH THEY HAD TO RUN ACROSS JUST A YARD FOR HOSPITAL.

AND THEN THEY JUST -- THEY MOVED HER IN THE AMBULANCE AND LEFT.

THEN THE DAY AFTER WE WERE SEARCHING FOR HER, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T KNOW WHICH HOSPITAL THEY CARRIED HER.

WE STILL HOPE SHE WOULD SURVIVE P BUT SHE DIDN'T.

>> THE VIDEO THAT YOU TOOK FROM THAT MATERNITY HOSPITAL, VASQUEZ AND LEADERS IN THE EU, HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT AND USED THAT FOOTAGE AS POSSIBLY EVIDENCE OF WAR CRIMES.

I WONDER, HAVE WON CONTACTED BY ANY AUTHORITIES TO IMPORT THAT AS EVIDENCE IN ANY KIND OF AN INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL?

>> SO THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH WORK ON TRIALS.

THE FIRST ONE IS THAT TO START -- TO EVEN START ONE, YOU NEED TO OCCUPY THE CITY.

WHEN BUCHA WAS OCCUPIED WE SAW THE HORRORS THERE, BUT THE TRIALS WERE POSSIBLE EXACTLY BECAUSE THERE WERE BUDDIES.

THERE WAS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE OF THESE CRIMES.

WITH MARIUPOL, WE KNOW FOR SURE THAT THIS SCALE OF THE WAR CRIMES IS MAYBE TEN TIMES BIGGER.

CAN'T IMAGINE HOW MUCH BIGGER THE SCALE OF THE WAR CRIMES IN MARIUPOL IS.

HOWEVER, TO EVEN START SPEAKING ABOUT THIS, WE NEED TO SEE CITY BEING OCCUPIED.

THE PROBLEM HERE IS THAT THE LONGER IT STAYS UNDER OCCUPATION, MORE OF THE -- MORE OF THE EVIDENCE ARE BEING DESTROYED.

SO THIS BUILDINGS THAT STILL HAVE THE REMAINS OF PEOPLE WHO DIED IN THE SHELLINGINGS, THEY JUST ARE BEING KNOCKED DOWN AND TURNED INTO DUST, PAVED ROADS, AND BODIES ARE THROWN INTO MASS GRAVES WITH JUST NUMBERS, BASICALLY NUMBERS BEING RAISED AFTER A WHILE.

THERE IS LIKE A WOODEN PLAQUES.

ALL THIS IS MAKING INVESTIGATIONS, WAR CRIMES VERY DIFFICULT.

HOWEVER, FORTUNATELY, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET MOST OF THE FOOTAGE OUT, THE ORANGE FILES, RIGHT.

SO FILES WITH THE INFORMATION IN THEM AND THAT WOULD MAKE IT EASIER TO IDENTIFY.

BUT, YEAH.

A LOT OF EVIDENCE THAT WAS -- EVIDENCE THAT THERE WERE FILMED BY RESIDENTS, THE CHECKPOINTS WHEN PEOPLE WERE TRYING TO LEAVE AND THEIR PHONES GOT JUST ERASED AND IT'S GONE.

>> YOU GREW UP IN KHARKIV.

WHAT'S IT BEEN LIKE TO WATCH IMAGES, TO GO TO PLACES THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THAT ARE NOW BOMBED OUT, TORN APART?

>> WHEN I CAME BACK TO KHARKIV AFTER MARIUPOL, IT WAS HEAVILY BOMBARDED.

I WAS JUST GOING AND TRYING TO FILM, AGAIN THE VICTIMS OF THIS BOMBARDMENTS.

ONE DAY I GOT A CALL FROM THE RESCUE WORKERS WITH JUST AN ADDRESS.

SO I DROVE THERE VERY QUICKLY, NOT THINKING WHAT EXACTLY THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WAS THAT ADDRESS.

THEN I ARRIVED.

I REALIZED THAT THAT'S A BUILDING WHERE I LIVED FOR FIVE YEARS WHEN I WAS A STUDENT.

THERE WERE THREE DEAD PEOPLE JUST IN FRONT OF A HOUSE WHERE I USED TO, YOU KNOW, SPEND SO MUCH TIME.

AND IT WAS LIKE COMING -- IT WAS LIKE COMING -- IT WAS LIKE A NIGHTMARE YOU CANNOT WAKE UP FROM.

>> HOW DO YOU FUNCTION, I GUESS, EMOTIONALLY, PHYSICALLY, PSYCHOLOGICALLY WHEN YOU ARE SEEING THESE THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF UNSPEAKABLE?

I MEAN, YOU WROTE FOR THE A.P.

THAT I HAD SEEN SO MUCH DEATH THAT I WAS FILMING ALMOST WITHOUT TAKING IT IN.

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

>> WELL, WHEN YOU ARE AT THE SCENE, WHEN THERE IS A LOT OF ADRENALINE PUMPING UP, WHEN THERE IS THE THOUGHT THAT YOU ALSO NEED TO SURVIVE, AND YOU NEED TO DO EVERYTHING QUICKLY, AND THE ONLY FEAR YOU HAVE TO BE SURE THAT YOU NEED TO CAPTURE EVERY MOMENT OF WHAT IS UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF YOU.

SO YOU DON'T ANALYZE EMOTIONALLY WHAT IS HAPPENING.

WHEN IT HITS HARDER IS WHEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY EDITING AND FOR ALMOST SIX MONTHS, NO, ACTUALLY, ALMOST A YEAR WE EDITED THE FILM.

SO EVERY SINGLE SPAES TEAR, EVERY DROP OF BLOOD I REMEMBER VERY CLEARLY.

I CAN'T ESCAPE FROM THAT.

AND IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU HAVE TO LIVE WITH.

AND I GUESS ALL OF THE UKRAINIANS AND ALL INTERNATIONALS WHO WORK NOW IN UKRAINE, THEY ALL GO THROUGH A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE.

WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY IS THAT WHATEVER THE AUDIENCE SEES ON THE SCREEN IN THE FILM IS NOT SOMETHING EXCLUSIVE TO WHAT WE LIVED THROUGH.

IT IS SOMETHING THAT ALL JOURNALISTS NOW ARE GOING THROUGH AND CIVILIANS ARE GOING THROUGH IN UKRAINE.

>> THERE WERE ABOUT 100,000 PEOPLE, AS YOU SAID, THAT WERE ABLE TO GET OUT, BUT THERE WERE SO MANY STILL LEFT IN MARIUPOL, AND THEY WERE STRUGGLING.

THEY WERE DESPERATE.

YOU SHOWED SIGNS OF LOOTING.

YOU SHOWED THEM WONDERING WHO WAS DOING THE BOMBING.

WHY DID YOU WANT TO SHOW THAT?

>> THE STORY WOULD BE INCOMPLETE WITHOUT THESE REACTIONS BECAUSE THESE REACTIONS ARE REACTIONS TO THE INFORMATION.

WHAT IS EXTRAORDINARY, SAD ABOUT THIS SIEGE IN MARIUPOL, IT WAS NOT ONLY PHYSICAL, MILITARY SIEGE OF THE CITY, IT WAS AN INFORMATION SIEGE.

AND INFORMATION SIEGE THAT LED TO THIS CONSEQUENCES.

NOW WE KIND OF SEE THIS -- IT IS A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR A FUTURE.

A TERRIBLE EXAMPLE FOR A FUTURE, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE RESEARCHED OF HOW THIS SOCIETY COLLAPSES AND HOW PEOPLE GET CONFUSED AND LOST AND SUSCEPTIBLE TO PROPAGANDA WHEN THEIR LIFE IS IN DANGER AND WHEN THEY HAVE ZERO ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

AND THAT'S ALSO A NOTE ON IMPORTANCE OF JOURNALISM IN GENERAL.

FOR OUR SOCIETY.

>> THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT.

THE HOSPITAL IS SURROUNDED.

DOZENS OF DOCTORS, HUNDREDS OF PATIENTS, AND US.

>> I HAVE NO ILLUSIONS ABOUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US IF WE ARE OUT.

>> YOUR TEAM WAS LIKELY THE LAST REPORTING TEAM LEFT IN THERE.

YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY SURROUNDED.

YOU ARE INSIDE A HOSPITAL AND THERE IS RUSSIAN TANKS WITH LARGE Zs ON THEM.

EXPLAIN WHAT'S HAPPENING.

>> THE DAY AFTER THE BOMBING OF MARIUPOL, MATERNITY HOSPITAL, WE WERE LOOKING FOR SURVIVORS AND WE WERE HOPING THAT THEY WERE IN THERE, IRINA, WHO WE SAW IN THIS AREA SURVIVED.

WE WENT BACK TO HOSPITAL NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS A HOSPITAL WHERE WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME, AND WE FOUND -- WE FOUND OUT THAT SHE DIED AND WE FOUND OTHER SURVIVORS, ONE OF THEM GAVE BIRTH.

THAT WAS LIKE A RAY OF LIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DESTRUCTION AND HORRORS.

BUT AS SOON AS WE ARE TRYING TO LEAVE, WE REALIZE THAT THE FRONT LINE IS MOVED AND THE BATTLE IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF -- OUTSIDE OF A HOSPITAL.

SNIPERS SHOT A NURSE AND WE CANNOT GET TO THEIR CAR AND THE RUSSIAN TANKS STARTED ROLLING AROUND THE HOSPITAL AND SHOOTING AT A RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS.

SO KIND OF HAD TO, A HARD CHOICE WHETHER TO KEEP FILMING, BEING IN DANGER TO BE SHOT AT, OR HIDE SOMEWHERE.

WE FILMED, BUT WE, OBVIOUSLY, COULDN'T SEND ANYTHING FROM THERE.

THERE WAS NO CONNECTION.

AND WE JUST WENT HIDING BECAUSE WE KNEW IF RUSSIANS COME IN THE HOSPITAL, THEY WILL CAPTURE US.

THEY WILL SEE THE CAMERAS, THEY WILL CAPTURE US.

WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO WITH US.

PUT US IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA AND SAY THAT EVERYTHING WE FILMED WAS NOT TRUE, OR WOULD JUST SHOOT US.

BECAUSE, WELL, NOW I KNOW THAT AT THE SAME TIME WITH US IN MARIUPOL, IN LITHUANIA, A FILMMAKER WAS -- HE WASN'T SENDING ANYTHING, BUT HE WAS NO MARIUPOL.

WHILE ATTEMPTING TO LEAVE MARIUPOL SEVERAL DAYS AFTER WE IS, HE WAS CAPTURED AND EXECUTED.

SO WE KNOW, LIKE WE KNEW THAT WE SHOULDN'T GET CAPTURED.

AND DOCTORS DRESSED US IN OVERALLS SO WE COULD PRETEND TO BE DOCTORS IN CASE RUSSIANS CAME IN.

BUT WE WERE SAVED.

IT WAS A MIRACLE THAT WE GOT OUT FROM THAT HOSPITAL.

IT WAS A MIRACLE.

>> SO, THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT HAPPENED IN A PARTICULAR CITY IN JUST A PARTICULAR SET OF WEEKS, AND HERE WE ARE STILL IN THE HEADLINES, THERE ARE REGULAR ATTACKS THAT ARE HAPPENING.

THERE IS AN ACTIVE SHOOTING WAR.

DID YOU THINK THAT THIS WOULD LAST THIS LONG?

>> I HOPED IT WOULDN'T, BUT FOR ME, IT LASTS ALREADY FOR NINE YEARS.

IT DOESN'T LAST FOR A YEAR.

IT LASTS FOR NINE YEARS.

AND ALL I'VE SEEN SO FAR IS ESCALATION OF THIS INVASION.

RUSSIA INVADED CRIMEA.

THEN IT INVADED DONBAS.

AND IT WAS FIGHTING, BUT THEN THERE WAS A PEACE TREATY WHEN RUSSIA AND RUSSIA KIND OF SWALLOWED THAT PART, OCCUPIED THAT PART OF THE TERRITORY.

NOW THEY ARE ADVANCING, AND THEY ARE HOPING FOR ANOTHER PEACE TREATY WHICH WILL ALLOW THEM TO OCCUPY EVEN MORE TERRITORIES, AND THEN I KNOW FOR SURE THAT THAT'S THE CASE, THEY WILL PREPARE IN A FEW YEARS, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ATTEMPT AND THERE WILL BE JUST ENDLESS.

SO AS MUCH AS I WANT THIS TO BE OVER RIGHT NOW, I REALIZE THAT UNTIL -- UNTIL -- I GET THIS FROM SPEAKING TO UKRAINIANS.

UNTIL MOST OF THE UKRAINIAN TERRITORIES RECOGNIZED BY U.N. ARE LIBERATED, THERE WILL BE NO PEACE AND THERE WILL BE ALWAYS DANGER OF ESCALATION OF INVASION.

>> THE FILM IS "20 DAYS IN MARIUPOL."

DIRECTOR MSTYSLAV CHERNOV.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

STAY SAFE.