"2000 Meters to Andriivka" is Urgent, important, and Devastating

This week the PBS series “Frontline” released a new documentary film about the war in Ukraine, now available to stream online for free. Originally premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” follows a small group of Ukrainian soldiers with a simple mission - fight their way through a mile-long stretch of heavily defended forest and retake the town of Andriivka from Russian occupation. The way these filmmakers have documented this short and horrifying journey is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.

Filmed in late 2023 during the Ukrainian counteroffensive, “2000 Meters to Andriivka” features intense on-the-ground footage of the war shot by the filmmakers. It also heavily incorporates drone footage from the real-life battle and, most effectively, body camera footage from the soldiers themselves. As the camera crawls through this stretch of woods, surrounded by barren trees and imminent danger, it’s strapped to the heads of the soldiers themselves.

Watching the body cam footage throughout the film it’s hard not to think the movie resembles a first-person shooter video game like “Call of Duty”. It’s a jarring experience to remind yourself this is real and the people getting shot and killed in front of you were real too.

For the first half of the documentary the platoon is pushing forward to meet up with the sergeant leading this mission. We hear him on radio directing the soldiers, inspiring them, steering them away from danger. It’s clear they look up to Sergeant Fedya. When we finally meet him, we learn he’s 24 years old. A few months ago he worked in a warehouse. Now, his home has been invaded, and he’s leading men to their deaths.

When we reach Andriivka at the end of the documentary, the realization of what this platoon has been fighting and dying for is utterly devastating. There’s a small note of hope, but “2000 Meters to Andriivka” is a harsh, powerful, and urgent reminder of the realities of a brutal war still raging this second.

Rating - 9/10

“2000 Meters to Andriivka” is now streaming for free on Youtube, at pbs.org/frontline, and in PBS Documentaries on Prime Video.