Today, the first screening of the documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" by Ukrainian military correspondent and writer Mstyslav Chernov took place in Ljubljana. A week before the screening in Ljubljana, the documentary received the prestigious BAFTA Award of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The screening was organized by the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Slovenia as part of events for the second anniversary of the start of the full-scale war of russia against Ukraine.

The documentary "20 Days in Mariupol" tells about the siege of the city and the incredible brutality with which the russians shelled and bombed the city, killed civilians, mainly women and children, and destroyed the city's critical infrastructure and residential buildings. In particular, the documentary shows documentary footage of the shelling of the city hospital and the maternity hospital, which became one of the most terrible episodes of the siege of Mariupol.

The event was opened by the speech of the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Slovenia H.E. Mr. Andrii Taran, who noted that the destruction of Mariupol is only one example of the total genocide of Ukrainians by russia. The Ambassador of Ukraine emphasized that for two years of full-scale war Ukraine has been facing the incredible cruelty of russia, which is trying to destroy Ukrainians as a state and as a nation.

The screening attracted wide attention from the political and scientific circles of the Republic of Slovenia. Among the guests of the event were, in particular, the First Gentleman of the Republic of Slovenia Aleš Musar, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, representatives of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Slovenia, representatives of Slovenian universities, ambassadors, diplomats and military attachés of countries accredited in Ljubljana. Heads of Ukrainian cultural organizations in Slovenia and activists of the Ukrainian community were also invited to the event.

After the screening, the Ambassador of Ukraine invited all guests to honor the victims of russia's brutal war against Ukraine with a minute of silence.

It should be noted that the documentary film "20 Days in Mariupol" made an extremely deep emotional impression on the audience. After watching guests expressed their condolences to the Ambassador of Ukraine and shared their difficult impressions of what they saw on the screen.

The event was attended by representatives of the leading Slovenian media, including the film crew of the national television and radio broadcaster of Slovenia "RTV Slovenia", journalists of the leading Slovenian weeklies "Dnevnik" and "Democracia".

After the screening, the guests of the event expressed their solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people by making a joint photo against the background of the yellow and blue banner "We Stand With Ukraine".

The event was also featured on social media pages of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Slovenia. In particular, the Embassy of Great Britain in Slovenia posted a message about the screening on the official Facebook page and noted that Great Britain continues “unwavering support for Ukraine with:

• Almost £12bn in military, humanitarian and economic support, and £4.7bn non-military support since the start of the invasion.
• The largest package of sanctions ever imposed on Russia – on over 1700 individuals and businesses, cutting off funding for Putin’s illegal war.
• Today the UK announced more than 50 new sanctions to diminish Putin’s weapons arsenal and war chest, targeting munitions manufacturers, electronics companies, and diamond and oil traders” - https://cutt.ly/iwB33U5U

Photos by Jannetta Setyan