They follow the trauma of war: "Don't let go"

In a trench position in Donetsk, nurse Mychajlo sits huddled and wonders what to say to the camera pointed at him. Sweat is running from his forehead.

In a temporary medical facility in Zaporizjzja, wounded bodies are being rolled in on a conveyor belt. During a break in the work, Tetiana and Serhij sit in front of a camera and tell that they find it hard not to think of their colleague Denys, who was recently killed in a sudden rocket attack.

Behind the camera stand The Kyiv Independent's journalists Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko. In a

It was a process to get them to open up to us, step by step, says Farrell to TT at a screening of the film in Stockholm.

Stopped looking ahead

When one of the 100 medics in the group, Maksym, found out that he would get to travel to Sweden, he exclaimed that it would be his first trip abroad.

Then he remembered that it was his second, since he had just been in captivity in Russia, says filmmaker Olena Zashko.

In Sweden, the Ukrainians got to talk to psychologists. Some did not want to be filmed, while others had an easier time opening up in front of the camera.

In Zaporizjzja, nurse Tetiana told that she had completely stopped thinking about the future.

She could not imagine a world, or herself, after the war. After the trip, she went back to work, but she said she had started dreaming a little again, says Zashko.

"Our privilege"

The journalists have witnessed a lot. Francis Farrell talks about deadly attacks in Charkiv, about mass graves in Izium and drone strikes at the front. They also have friends or acquaintances who have died.

We have in a way become deeply entrenched in the war. But we also have the great privilege of being able to leave it, says Francis Farrell.

It's hard to talk about objectivity in journalism when the war is going on in your own country. For me, the job is also about being human, says colleague Zashko.

More pressing situation

The medics are back in a war where Russian invasion forces are advancing.

The former prisoner of war Maksym is at the front in Donetsk. Mychajlo, who initially sweated in front of the camera, has followed Ukrainian forces into Russian Kursk. At least four of their fellow travelers have died after returning home.

Many are tired, maybe have lost some motivation. But they also realize that there is no alternative, says Francis Farrell.

The Kyiv Independent is an English-language and web-based newspaper that was founded in Kyiv at the end of 2021, about three months before Russia launched its large-scale war of aggression against Ukraine.

Its founder and many employees used to work for The Kyiv Post, but had to leave after a major internal conflict. The newspaper had been bought by an oligarch who wanted to interfere with the editorial work. This met with strong protests, which ended with him firing all employees.

Olga Rudenko, who was deputy editor-in-chief at The Kyiv Post, is editor-in-chief at The Kyiv Independent. Today, more than 60 people work there.

When the war broke out in earnest, the new newspaper got a prominent role in the reporting and a sharp increase in the number of readers.

The newspaper has taken a stand against Russia's invasion, as an existential threat, but claims to follow basic journalistic principles in its reporting, even when it comes to Ukrainian actions.

Repower is a aid organization that works to enable healthcare personnel working in war-torn Ukraine to go on recreational trips to, among other places, Sweden.

It's about, among other things, nurses, doctors, and medics in the field, who in various ways take care of wounded soldiers in the war. Many come directly from the front line and are expected to return there when they get back. It's both the Ukrainian military's healthcare personnel and others working for volunteer organizations.

The program includes seminars and lectures on practical care issues and how to handle stress, as well as visits to museums, outdoor activities, and entertainment. The trips have lasted for ten days, with departure by train from Kyiv.

During 2024, a total of more than 750 people have been able to participate in the organization's project.