"In less than a month, it will be two years since that February morning in 2022 that changed the lives of people in Europe and beyond. The escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in 2014, made politicians rethink a number of security-related factors and invest heavily in the defense capabilities of the countries. Analysts’ predictions about prolonged hostilities on the territory of Ukraine after the attack by Russia on February 24, 2022, were also justified.

According to information from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the civilian casualties in Ukraine exceeded 10,000 at the end of 2023. More than 18,600 were injured. Nearly half of the civilian casualties occurred far beyond the frontlines. According to Eurostat, 4.2 million refugees from Ukraine registered for temporary protection or similar schemes in the EU.

The Military TV channel, which is subordinate to the Information Centre of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, is preparing a special film series dedicated to the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The project is called "Letters from the War". Its first episode titled "The Pulse of Ukraine" has already been filmed. The scriptwriter and director is the Bessarabian-Bulgarian Tetiana Staneva, who has already collected material for upcoming episodes. How did it all begin?

"The Ministry of Defense contacted me first for advice, as they wanted to make a film on the anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, but they didn't know how," Tetiana said in a phone interview with Radio Bulgaria. ‘’I told them that I have a plan and idea for such a film. According to the initial idea, the film was supposed to have a running time of 26 minutes, but we decided to extend it and make it 52 minutes so that the stories we have filmed and those we are yet to film can become part of this series."

"Tetiana has not made her first steps in cinema with the current series. She is a longtime screenwriter, film director and director of the International Ethnographic Film Festival OKO, where last year, she presented the documentary ''Life to the Limit'', filmed by volunteers on the front line.

"Now, through myself, I show the heroes I meet -friends who have died, who go to the front line, or who are currently there. The period is completely different now. ''Life to the Limit'' showed the time from 2014 to 2022, and I am showing what happens after that"– explains Tetiana Staneva. – In the other parts, I will go back to the first day to show how the war started - we were all in panic, but got used to it and we now react to the air raid alert differently. Theatres, shops and supermarkets are now open, which was not the case in the first months of the war. People began returning to the capital only after the de-occupation of the Kyiv region, and the capital city came back to life only in May 2022. Our idea is to show people how we live."

With her series "Letters from the War" Tetiana wants to send a message to Bulgarians who still perceive the war in Ukraine as an interstate problem that does not seem to concern Europe and the world:

"There is no way to stand aside and watch what is happening in Ukraine as if it is some kind of show behind a glass pane. People need to understand that this concerns them directly – said Tetiana. – By showing Bulgarians who are either fighting or living their civilian lives, I want to ask - is anyone concerned about what is happening to the Bulgarian diaspora in Ukraine, how does the war affect us? Bulgarians in Ukraine are a bridge between the two countries, so the war there cannot be something distant that does not affect us."

Photos: Oleksandr Baron; FB / Tetiana Staneva