Two Maltese journalists have produced a second Ukraine war documentary in a bid to raise funds for the war-torn country.

Ukraine: In the line of fire was filmed in Kharkiv and shows the widespread destruction caused by incessant Russian missile, rocket and artillery attacks on civilian areas. 

The documentary is free to watch.

Neil Camilleri and Giuseppe Attard, the men behind production, reported from the heavily damaged city centre and the district of Saltivka, visited bombed-out residences and schools, and carried out interviews with a trauma doctor at one of the region’s medical centres. 

They spent time with a local NGO, documenting the volunteers’ efforts as they rescued people from their damaged homes and delivered essential humanitarian supplies to residents of heavily hit areas. 

And they also spent three days living with an elite military unit based on the border with Russia. There, they experienced the daily lives of Ukrainian frontline soldiers, their living conditions and their military training. 

On their last day in Kharkiv, the team came under direct Russian artillery fire while travelling with the volunteers as they delivered food and medicine to the residents of villages located as close as 5km to the fighting.

Luckily, no one was injured, but the team describes the incident as a ‘close call.’

Camilleri and Attard, who founded the journalistic initiative 'Unhidden Stories', travelled to the war-torn country for a second time in May of 2022 to produce this not-for-profit documentary.

Through this production, they are hoping to raise funds for the Malta-registered NGO Happy Initiative, which is carrying out several important projects in areas located in the Kyiv region, as well as Volunter-68, the NGO they spent time with during their second visit in May. 

The first documentary, Ukraine: the people’s war, centred around their experiences in Kyiv, Bucha and Irpin in March 2022.

The team was supported in Ukraine by GO, Jesmond Mizzi Financial Services, Moneybase, Multi Packaging Ltd, EY Malta, APS Bank and The Malta Police Force.