ITV bosses are facing accusations that a new documentary about the Ukraine war will be used by “Putin propagandists”.
Publicity material says the show’s makers undertook a “journey to the Russian side of the war in eastern Ukraine” to report on what is “almost exclusively a hidden and otherwise inaccessible side of this conflict.”
The 1 hour 50 minute special, The Ukraine War: The Other Side, will screen on ITV1 tomorrow night. It was made by Sean Langan, who was accompanied by a repairman from the Russian Foreign Ministry during filming.
Last night, critics said ITV should not show the film just days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. They also warned that supporters of the Moscow regime are likely to use clips from the documentary in their social media war against the West.
In the documentary, interviewees (both civilians and soldiers) repeatedly tell Langan that Russia wants to get rid of the “Nazi” government in kyiv.
The 1 hour 50 minute special, The Ukraine War: The Other Side, will screen on ITV1 tomorrow night. It was made by Sean Langan, who was accompanied by a repairman from the Russian Foreign Ministry during filming.
A scene from the documentary. Last night, critics said ITV should not show the film just days after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Critics also warned that supporters of the Moscow regime are likely to use clips from the documentary in their social media war against the West.
One scene shows a masked militia member claiming he was with Russian forces when they invaded Bucha, north of Kiev, in April 2022. Investigators later recovered 458 bodies, as well as finding evidence of summary executions and mass rapes of women and girls.
But the masked man denied there had been a massacre and walked away from the camera without being questioned.
In another scene, the filmmaker visits a warehouse of what are said to be captured NATO weapons with a Russian tank commander in the eastern Ukrainian town of Svatove, when the building is stormed by a group of men, who It appears that they are from the Russian Spetsnaz special forces.
One says: ‘Why did you bring him? All hell is going to break loose now. I’m eating his liver!’
Another says: ‘Tell him we’re looking at his liver. She has always wanted to murder someone.
After Sean convinces them to be interviewed, the men, who are equipped with balaclavas and battle suits, tell him that the Russians should not be underestimated, with one of them saying, “Study Russian history closely and you will understand that the Russians never wanted war. Russians don’t attack, Russians actually end wars.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who has been to Ukraine twice since the war began, criticized the network for the film, saying: “In my opinion it is a mistake to show this documentary now on ITV after Navalny, and make the Russian side look human.
“Of course, we are all human, but in this case the Russians are aggressors and have brought nothing but destruction to Ukraine.
“My fear now is that clips of this documentary will be used by Russian activists to make their point: that Russia is on the good side.”
In the documentary, interviewees (both civilians and soldiers) repeatedly tell Langan that Russia wants to get rid of the “Nazi” government in kyiv.
Langan, an independent filmmaker, has previously made documentaries attempting to show “the other side” of a global conflict.
Lee Anderson, Conservative MP for Ashfield, said: “I don’t think this documentary should be shown. At a time when the whole world is trying to help Ukraine at this difficult time, we need the support of the British public. But a documentary like this could reduce the support of the British public, and that is the concern, so these journalists need to be careful what they do.’
Anthony Glees, a terrorism expert at the University of Buckingham, said: “I think it’s totally a mistake to show this documentary.
“The people of Ukraine are not Nazis, and if there is anyone who is a Nazi, it is Vladimir Putin.
“So if this is repeated in this documentary, it could give oxygen to Putin’s propagandists.”
But ITV has supported the documentary. A spokesperson said: ‘This documentary is an example of independent journalism, telling a human story of the impact of war.
Sean Langan during filming. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, who has been to Ukraine twice since the war began, criticized ITV for the film, saying: “In my opinion it is a mistake to show this documentary now on ITV after Navalny and make the “Russian part seems human.” ‘
A scene from the Ukrainian war: the other side. The documentary also interviews ordinary Ukrainians in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region who say they are fed up with war.
‘This film is a unique opportunity to see for ourselves what is happening on the Russian-occupied side of the front line, clearly placed within the broader context of how the conflict was initiated by the Russian invasion.
“The film offers a balanced view of this war and has been produced without any political influence.”
In the documentary, Langan manages to speak with members of the Spetznaz, or Russian special forces, and eventually ends up on the front lines in a forested area near Kharkiv called Sherwood Forest, which had just been taken by Russian forces after months of intense fighting. combats.
The documentary also interviews ordinary Ukrainians in the Russian-controlled Donetsk region who say they are fed up with war.
Langan, an independent filmmaker, has previously made documentaries attempting to show “the other side” of a global conflict.
In previous documentaries, he interviewed the late Hamas leader Sheikh Yassin in Gaza, who was assassinated by Israel in 2004.
Langan made another documentary in which he interviewed Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2007. The following year, he was kidnapped by the Taliban, but was released three months later.