Ukrainian director Mstislav Chernov won his country’s first Oscar on Sunday for the documentary “20 Days in Mariupol.”
Russia laid siege to the port city, saying he would rather live without Oscar than start a war against his country.

AP video journalist Chernov shot the film in the first days of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when he and a group of reporters were trapped in Mariupol. On Sunday, the film won the Academy Award for best documentary.

“This is the first Oscar in Ukraine’s history and I’m honored,” Chernov said in a powerful acceptance speech to a standing ovation.

“But I’ll probably be the first director on this stage to say I wish I had never made this movie. I wish I could trade it in exchange for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never occupying our cities… …But I can’t change history. Can’t change the past.”

Mariupol became synonymous with terror when Russia besieged the strategic port city for nearly three months from March to May 2022, with trapped civilians forced to bury their dead on the roadside.

Human Rights Watch said in February that at least 8,000 people were killed in fighting or war-related causes during the siege, one of the largest battles in the nearly two-year war between Russia and Ukraine.

The war has lasted for two years. Both sides have killed thousands, displaced millions and reduced Ukrainian cities to rubble. The war shows no sign of ending. President Zelensky has repeatedly called on Western allies to provide Kyiv with necessary supplies. of military supplies.

“This is a humanitarian emergency and a matter of supporting civilians who have been attacked and killed,” Chernov said at a news conference after the award.

“My job is not to try to convince anyone. Our job is to provide as much context and information as possible.”