Apr 3, 2022 - World

Documentary filmmaker killed in Ukraine

Julia Shapero

A view of damaged buildings and vehicles after shelling in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under the control of Russian military and pro-Russian separatists, on March 29. Photo: Leon Klein/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A Lithuanian documentary filmmaker was killed while trying to leave Mariupol, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's information agency tweeted Saturday.

Details: Mantas Kvedaravicius directed "Mariupolis," a documentary about life in Mariupol, as the southern port city battled Russian-backed fighters in 2014. He was 45 years old.

Kvedaravicius also directed "Barzakh," a documentary about Russia's war in Chechnya, which won the Amnesty International Film Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011.

The big picture: Mariupol has endured weeks of Russian military bombardment.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday that since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "some of the most egregious accounts of what could constitute war crimes" have occurred in Mariupol.

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Documentary filmmaker killed in Ukraine

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