The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) opened an investigation of Anastasia Trofimova, the Russian director of the documentary Russians at War, said Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, head of the parliamentary committee on freedom of speech, on Oct. 7.
Canadian-Russian director Trofimova's documentary has faced criticism for what many perceive as an attempt to whitewash Russian soldiers involved in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
The movie was brought into the spotlight when it appeared on the official list of screenings at the prestigious Venice and Toronto film festivals.
Trofimova is investigated on the charges of justifying and recognizing the legitimacy of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and illegally crossing Ukraine's internationally recognized borders when filming in the Russian-occupied territories.
The Kyiv Independent requested a press copy of the film for review, but we were not provided with one.
According to testimonies, the movie portrays Russian soldiers in Ukraine as ordinary people, never shows or mentions the war crimes committed by them in Ukraine, and subtly questions the truthfulness of Ukrainian testimonies of them.
Kate Tsurkan
Earlier in her career, Trofimova worked for Russia Today, a Kremlin-backed propaganda outlet.
At first, Toronto Film Festival organizers decided to pull the film from the schedule, citing security concerns, but later decided to hold a special screening for the film after the end of the festival in September, drawing widespread criticism.
Trofimova received $340,000 from the Canada Media Fund for her movie.
Although Yurchyshyn welcomed Canadian lawmakers' conclusion that Canada should not fund such films, he initiated the case to be opened against Trofimova because "it is Ukraine that should be the first to initiate Trofimova's case."
The Ukrainian lawmaker also said that he would aim for "a tougher punishment for violating the Ukrainian law" than merely suspending Canadian tax-payer money to finance her movies.
Kate Tsurkan
