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As Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Nears One-Year Mark, FRONTLINE Presents Updated Documentary “Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack”

A man looks out of a shattered window with rubble around it.
A still from FRONTLINE’s documentary “Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack.”

By

Anne Husted Blatt

February 10, 2023

Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack Updated Documentary Premiering Tues., February 14, 2023 Streaming at 7/6c at pbs.org/frontline & in the PBS Video App Airing at 10/9c on PBS and on YouTube www.facebook.com/frontline | Twitter: @frontlinepbs Instagram: @frontlinepbs | YouTube: youtube.com/frontline

One year ago this month, Russian forces mounted a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine – including a sustained assault on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city. Many expected the city to fall in days, but the Ukrainians refused to surrender.

As the Feb. 24 anniversary of the invasion approaches, FRONTLINE presents an updated version of the documentary Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack that offers an up-close look at life today in Kharkiv, a city transformed by a year of war.

Originally filmed on the ground during the first three months of the war and aired in August 2022, Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack told the stories of displaced families trying to survive underground, civilians caught in the violence and first responders risking their lives.

The updated version of the documentary, which premieres Tues., Feb. 14, 2023, on PBS and online, revisits the people the original film first profiled, sharing how months of war have reshaped their lives.

Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack was filmed, produced, and directed in Ukraine by Mani Benchelah and Patrick Tombola with producer Volodymyr Pavlov, with additional direction by Teresa Smith and executive production by Oscar-nominated filmmakers Ben de Pear and Edward Watts (For Sama) and Oscar winner Cate Blanchett.

Amid fears that Russian forces might mount a major offensive timed to the anniversary of the war, Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack is a dramatic and intimate look inside the assault on Kharkiv, told by the people living through it.

The updated version of Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack will premiere Tuesday, February 14, 2023, at 10/9c on PBS stations (check local listings). The documentary will also be available to stream at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS Video App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.

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Credits Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack is a Basement Films production for GBH/FRONTLINE in association with Channel 4. Filmed, produced and directed by Mani Benchelah and Patrick Tombola; produced in Ukraine by Volodymyr Pavlov; directed in London by Teresa Smith. The editor is Agnieszka Liggett. The production manager is Leah Gowns. The executive producers are Ben de Pear, Edward Watts and Cate Blanchett. The executive producer and editor-in-chief for FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

About FRONTLINE FRONTLINE, U.S. television’s longest running investigative documentary series, explores the issues of our times through powerful storytelling. FRONTLINE has won every major journalism and broadcasting award, including 100 Emmy Awards and 28 Peabody Awards. Visit pbs.org/frontline and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to learn more. FRONTLINE is produced at GBH in Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional support for FRONTLINE is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Park Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Laura DeBonis.

FRONTLINE Press Contact: Anne Husted, FRONTLINE, Manager, Public Relations and Communications | frontlinemedia@wgbh.org  |  6173005312

 

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FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Web Site Copyright ©1995-2025 WGBH Educational Foundation. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding is provided by the Ford Foundation, Abrams Foundation; Park Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Trust with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Web Site Copyright ©1995-2025 WGBH Educational Foundation. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.

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