logo
Bucha massacre documentary wins gold at New York Festivals 2025

Bucha massacre documentary wins gold at New York Festivals 2025

Yahoo23-05-2025

A documentary by the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty about the massacres in Bucha during the Russian occupation has won a gold award at the New York Festivals 2025 television awards. It took the prize in the Human Rights category.
Source: Radio Liberty
Details: The documentary, How Russian Forces Hunted Down A Ukrainian Shopkeeper In Bucha Bloodbath, is the second part of an investigation by journalist Dmytro Dzhulai into the massacres in Bucha during the Russian occupation in March 2022.
It examines the circumstances of the executions and names Russian military personnel who may be involved in the killing of local self-defence member Oleksii Pobihay.
The winners were announced on the evening of 22 May in New York during the virtual Storytellers gala.
Other laureates this year included Al Jazeera English, Voice of America, ABCTV, PBS, BBC and Deutsche Welle, among others.
Background: In March 2025, a documentary by Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov, 2000 Meters to Andriivka, won an award at the CPH:DOX documentary film festival in Denmark.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukraine warns teenagers the enemy is inside their phones
Ukraine warns teenagers the enemy is inside their phones

Boston Globe

time21 hours ago

  • Boston Globe

Ukraine warns teenagers the enemy is inside their phones

Advertisement Think of this class, in a secondary school in the western city of Lviv, as the Ukrainian version of 'Scared Straight.' The course, introduced this spring by Ukraine's top internal security agency and the national police at high schools nationwide, aims to deter teenagers from falling under the influence of Russian operatives. They have started paying Ukrainian minors to set fires or plant homemade bombs, Ukrainian authorities say. 'I remind you that criminal responsibility in Ukraine begins at 14 years of age,' said the camouflaged man at the presentation on a recent Wednesday. 'Unfortunately, this easy money can lead either to criminal liability or to death.' For more than a year, Ukrainian authorities say, the Russian state security agency, known as the FSB, has targeted Ukrainian teenagers on social media apps like Telegram, TikTok and Discord. They are offered hundreds or even thousands of dollars to do simple tasks: Deliver a package. Take a photograph of a power substation. Spray graffiti. Advertisement The FSB did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Many young people do not necessarily know they are being recruited. The Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, says the teenagers often just search for 'easy money' on Telegram, where the Russians are waiting for them. But some agree to more complicated missions, often because they were blackmailed for the first task they performed, or for compromising photographs hacked from their phones. The SBU said late last month that authorities had accused more than 600 people of trying to commit arson, terrorism or sabotage in Ukraine after being recruited by Russian intelligence services. Of those, about 1 in 4 were minors. (The adults often had criminal records or a history of drug abuse.) One perpetrator was only 13. In May, the head of the national juvenile police said in a TV interview that almost 50 other children had reported to authorities that Russians had tried to recruit them. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, both sides have engaged in clandestine warfare. Ukraine has recruited people in Russia for targeted high-level killings, law enforcement sources said. For instance, the Ukrainians claimed responsibility for assassinating a top Russian general and his aide with a bomb planted in a scooter in December. But with the recruitment of young Ukrainians, the Russians are taking a new step by aiming for more indiscriminate attacks, near military recruitment centers or railway stations, said Roksolana Yavorska-Isaienko, an SBU spokesperson for the Lviv region. It is reminiscent of how teenagers were used as suicide bombers in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. Advertisement In December, the news in Ukraine was filled with reports of a significant case. The SBU and the national police detained two groups of teenagers in the eastern city of Kharkiv who they said had been tricked online into joining a fake 'quest' game, in which the 15- and 16-year-olds were sent tasks like setting fires and taking photographs and videos of certain targets, even air defenses. Ukrainian authorities said the Russians used the information to carry out airstrikes in Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. These claims could not be independently verified. During the class, the camouflaged agent and Yavorska-Isaienko went through other examples, one by one. In March, in the case that resonated the most with the students, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old were recruited on Telegram in the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk with the promise of $1,700, Ukrainian authorities said. Following instructions, the teenagers built two bombs out of thermos flasks and metal nuts. When they tried to deliver one of the bombs, authorities said, Russian agents detonated it remotely near the train station. The 17-year-old was killed, and the 15-year-old lost his legs. In April, the SBU caught a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old who burned train relay boxes in Lviv. They were recruited on Telegram, authorities said. Searches of their cellphones showed text messages between the teenagers and their Russian handlers. 'Yeah, the money will be there tomorrow,' the handler wrote, adding that it would arrive around lunchtime. 'Got it, bro,' one of the teenagers responded. Eventually, about $178 was transferred to his account. And in May -- just three days before the class -- two teenagers in the western city of Rivne made an explosive device from Russian instructions, put it in an abandoned building, positioned an ax there and covered the whole contraption with paint, authorities said. Then they called emergency services, claiming there was a dead person. After the police responded, the bomb exploded, but no one was harmed. The teenagers were arrested. Advertisement The recent class was about the 200th that the agency has done in the Lviv region since the outreach program started in April. The presenters knew how to hold the teenagers' attention. 'Maybe not all of these special operations are reported in the media -- but believe me, the enemy is not sleeping,' Yavorska-Isaienko said. 'They are working actively and carrying out illegal activities, as strange as it may sound, directly inside your phones.' She added, 'And when you hear an offer to earn quick money for a brand-new iPhone or $1,000, of course, it sounds very tempting. Sometimes, the task is disguised as a simple courier delivery, taking pictures of critical infrastructure or spraying provocative graffiti. That is often the first step toward your recruitment.' This classroom in the Lviv secondary school No. 32 resembled a typical science classroom in the United States, complete with creaky wooden floors; a poster of a tiger on the wall; models of DNA and lungs in the back; and teenagers in hoodies and jeans, heavy-metal T-shirts and a Barbie sweater. But these students did not make jokes or whisper the way many teenagers do. They asked questions: How did the Russians do surveillance? How could they help fight the FSB? These students had grown up with the war against Russia. Relatives were fighting on the front lines. One girl's uncle was missing. Advertisement 'Can I help and report it to the security services if I've already been approached for recruitment?' asked Volodia Sozonyk, 17, a boy in a blue hoodie and a manga T-shirt. 'If they've sent me an address or something I need to do, can I identify that spot for your operatives to help?' Yavorska-Isaienko and the camouflaged man told the students they could anonymously report any recruitment attempts to a new chatbot called 'Expose the FSB Agent.' And Yavorska-Isaienko told the students to use their common sense. 'No one in real life will suddenly offer you $1,000 or $2,000 just like that,' she said. 'You need to understand: The only free cheese is in the mousetrap.' This article originally appeared in

Coney Island Mermaid Parade makes a splash once again
Coney Island Mermaid Parade makes a splash once again

New York Post

time21 hours ago

  • New York Post

Coney Island Mermaid Parade makes a splash once again

The Coney Island Mermaid Parade made quite a splash once again. The 43rd annual event — the nation's largest art parade — welcomed revelers close from the Big Apple to around the world, many donning over-the-top aquatically-themed costumes for the tropical festivities. 'It's a great expression of people's creativity,' gushed Noella Owen, 53, of Brooklyn, who attended with her two children, aged 11 and 12. Advertisement The trio, who show up annually, hand made their marine-centric ensembles. 'My kids are dressed as krill and they wanted me to be a blue whale because of their fat jokes,' Owen said. 6 Many came to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade donning aquatically-themed costumes. Michael Nagle Advertisement The joyfully unconventional parade kicked off at 1 p.m. and the crowd quickly swelled to 30,000, which included marchers, spectators and those on the boardwalk, according to police. Caroline Northrop, 44, a public school teacher from Atlantic Highlands, N.J., also expressed her love for the unique 'celebration of creativity.' '[It] shows so many people are still creative even with AI everywhere, it's so refreshing,' said Northrop, who donned a 'woodland enchantress' outfit decorated with fake mice. 6 The joyful event dates back to 1983. Michael Nagle Advertisement 6 Victor Gonzales spent a month creating his outfit. Khristina Narizhnaya Victor Gonzales, 39, a civil engineer who lives in Queens, dressed as a lion fish, and said it took him one month to painstakingly create the costume. 'Because I have to sew, I have to do this structure. I have to design the makeup as well. Today, [it took to get dressed] probably about two and a half hours … I have to glue on the paper things,' he explained. Each year, a new King Neptune and Queen Mermaid are crowned — Ukrainian-American singer and Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello frontman Eugene Hütz and Bed-Stuy based pornstar Queenie Sateen were awarded the day's honors. Advertisement 6 Eugene Hütz and Queenie Sateen were crowned King Neptune and Queen Mermaid. Michael Nagle 6 There were 30,000 at the festivities, according to police estimates. Michael Nagle Hütz, who has been living in New York since 1997, was not only finally able to attend this year, but take on the venerable title. 'Every year I hear about it and … some kind of a big splashy burlesque action … and I'm always on tour,' he said. 'And all these years go by like that, let's finally see it already, you know? And then this year, miraculously, we're touring in the later part of the summer, not earlier part of the summer. And I get a call, so it's like, you know, 10 out of 10.' 6 Paula Carlson dressed as a 'more modern mermaid.' Samantha Olander Paula Carlson, 47, of Bay Ridge, a retired emergency manager, dressed as a 'more modern mermaid' in homage to Hütz. 'I wanted to pay tribute, because it is Eugene [Hütz as King Neptune] and he's Ukrainian, to the Rusalka, which is the Ukrainian myth of the mermaid, and she brings water to all of the crops.'

Deadly Russian assaults on Ukraine continue as date for new peace talks nears
Deadly Russian assaults on Ukraine continue as date for new peace talks nears

New York Post

timea day ago

  • New York Post

Deadly Russian assaults on Ukraine continue as date for new peace talks nears

At least one person was killed in Ukraine Friday night as Russia continued its unrelenting attacks, despite both parties reportedly inching closer to a new round of peace talks. A barrage of more than 20 Russian drones rained down on residential areas in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa and the northeastern city of Kharkiv overnight, according to officials. One civilian was killed and almost two dozen were injured, including two girls — 12 and 17-years-old — and three emergency workers. The strikes sparked fires that caused the partial collapse of a four-story apartment building and tore through the upper floors of a 23-story high-rise, leading to the evacuation of about 600 residents. Advertisement 4 Firefighters evacuated residents from a burning apartment building following Russia's massive air attack in Odesa. AP The Kremlin's attack also included 86 Iranian Shahed and decoy drones blasted across the country into Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. 'Russia continues its tactics of targeted terror against our people,' Zelensky said in the post. Advertisement He called on Western countries to keep the pressure on Russia, including through sanctions. 'The sooner the sick people in the Kremlin lose the ability to finance the war, the more lives we can save in Ukraine,' Zelensky said. 4 Emergency responders worked at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike in Odesa. via REUTERS In the 24 hours leading up to the nighttime attack, Russia bombarded its neighbor with hundreds more drones and cruise and ballistic missiles, according to Ukraine's air force. Advertisement The attacks followed an assault on Kyiv Tuesday that killed 28 and injured 142 others — marking the deadliest onslaught on the capital city this year. Meanwhile, the warring countries completed another round of prisoner exchanges on Friday, the second trade of POWs and soldiers' remains in two days, though neither side specified how many people were involved in the swap. 4 A kitchen in a high-rise apartment building was destroyed in a Russian drone attack in Odesa. AFP via Getty Images Zelensky said on X that most of his country's POWs had been held by Russia for more than two years, following their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Advertisement The oldest of the released captives was 63 years old and another, a 45-year-old service member, was released on his birthday, Ukrainian negotiator Dmytro Lubinets said. Zelensky also charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with using the return of the dead to obscure the scale of its military losses from the public, the Kyiv Independent reported. 4 Residential buildings, businesses, civilian infrastructure and cars were wrecked in the overnight attacks, officials said. AFP via Getty Images At a press conference Friday, Zelensky said authorities confirmed that at least 20 of the bodies returned as Ukrainians were actually Russian soldiers. The two countries have carried out a series of swaps since renewing peace talks, which in Istanbul last month. The last negotiations were held on June 2 and though Kyiv has not spoken recently of them resuming, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday that the date for the next round is expected to be agreed upon this coming week. With Post wires

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store