Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack

A dramatic and intimate look inside the Russian assault on Kharkiv. FRONTLINE follows displaced families trying to survive underground, civilians caught in the war and first responders risking their lives amid the shelling of Ukraine’s second largest city.

When Mani Yassir Benchelah and Patrick Tombola set out to film a documentary on Ukraine, in the days after Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion, they weren’t sure if they would focus solely on Kharkiv.

But within their first week of filming in Ukraine’s second largest city, they realized they had a compelling story on their hands. In total, they filmed in Kharkiv for about 55 days over the first three months of the war. The result is the new FRONTLINE documentary Ukraine: Life Under Russia’s Attack.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Heroes of Labor metro station in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv was an ordinary subway stop. By late March, the station had become something else for hundreds of Ukrainians: home.

With their families, a smattering of their belongings and their pets — kittens, dogs, birds — these residents of Ukraine’s second-largest city moved their lives underground and set up camp, seeking safety amid Russia’s assault.

“We understand there’s a war,” said 10-year-old Vika, who moved into the subway-station-turned-bomb-shelter with her mom, grandmother and little brother. “But we don’t understand why it has started.”

First aired on FRONTLINE.

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