Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

It’s 2023 near the Ukraine/Russian border, and things are bleak. Cities are filled with empty bombed out apartments, and in nearly deserted villages only the old, poor and infirm remain. Countless soldiers have been killed there, with new recruits taking their place, as they prepare to fight and kill the enemy, even as medics drive around looking for the wounded and the dead. Capturing all this is a woman with a camera, named Anastasia, asking probing questions of the soldiers she’s with. Are they justified in what they are doing? Do they want to be there? And all this is taking place… on the Russian side!

Russians at War is the name of a new documentary that goes across the border to film Russian soldiers in their war against Ukraine. It captures the cynicism, pessimism and fear of a never-ending war machine. It’s produced, directed and photographed by award-winning Russian- Canadian documentarian Anastasia Trofimova known for her TV work in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe and as a fixer and translator for the CBC, New York Times, Magnum Photos, and the Washington Post . This is her first feature.

I spoke with Anastasia about her controversial film from Toronto, via ZOOM.

Her documentary will be released online (russiansatwar.com) on August 12, 2025.