Kyiv Fortified Region

A documentary film about how the old pre-WWII fortifications near Kyiv were used again to repel the Russian invasion in February-March 2022.

Brief Description

In 1941, during World War II, the defense of Kyiv against the advancing Nazi troops lasted almost two and a half months, and then the city fell. In 2022, the fighting for Kyiv against the invading Russian troops lasted for about a month, and the defensive operation was successful this time. This is how history strangely repeats itself 81 years later, with the battle taking place at these very places and lines, but with a different outcome.

The complex of fortifications of the Kyiv fortified Region, which survived the Second World War, has been abandoned for a long time. At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, these facilities were apparently not ready for this new use. However, in March, some bunkers began to be used as shelters for civilians. As the city's defenses unfolded, the military also began using individual structures of the old line of long-term fortifications.

On February 24, at five in the morning, Russia launched numerous strikes on the territory of Ukraine. The enemy's main goal was to attack Kyiv and capture Ukraine's capital within three days. The aggressor's troops began to move towards Kyiv through the Gostomel highway from the Bucha side. But on the approaches to the city, they were met and defeated, because there stayed the fortifications of the Kyiv Fortified Region, built long ago, even before the Second World War.