The movie about the blockade of Mariupol "Yurik" caused a loud scandal: whether Mariupol residents are really guilty of the war and what the military say

On the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day, STB premiered the military drama "Yurik", which was filmed by the channel together with Osnova Film Production and Estonian partners from ETV. The tape, according to its authors, is based on real events and tells about the terrible period of the blockade of Mariupol after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation. However, Mariupol residents, who saw the horrors in their hometown with their own eyes, did not agree with its realism. Thus, they accused the movie of lying and "distortion of reality".

Meanwhile, Mariupol residents' reviews of the movie are deleted in comments, and one of the producers of "Yurik", Tatyana Kuts, accused the residents of the occupied city of "helping Russia to unleash war". OBOZREVATEL looked into the details of the scandal.

To begin with, the plot of the drama introduces the viewer to the real story of an 11-year-old boy who traveled 15 days to the Ukrainian border. His father, little sister and grandfather were killed during enemy shelling. His mom was forced to stay with his sick grandmother. Having learned that her son could be taken to Russia, the woman decides to tear the boy away from herself and send him to evacuation and then to Estonia to relatives. Before doing so, the mother wrote her phone number and all the necessary data on Yura's back.

The creators of the movie are proud of the result of their work. Many Ukrainian viewers also leave comments that it was impossible to hold back tears while watching the drama. However, Mariupol residents assure that the movie does not even come close to showing the real horrors they had to endure, and even desecrates and embellishes reality.

"From the first frames of this movie, all Mariupol residents who have gone through this hell will see the untruth. Starting with a comfortable brightly lit separate room in the basement with a fireplace and a wall clock, a direct connection to Estonia from the same basement and the "cherry on the cake" - an OSCE vehicle, from which an invitation to evacuate by the corridor, which seems to be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then the very OSCE bus, which takes the evacuees, is heard from a loudspeaker. Mariupol residents are lying when they say that they were sitting in the dark, saving every candle, burning oil lamps, and were without communication. Mariupol residents are lying when they say that there was no organized evacuation, no medical or any kind of help at all," said Yevhen Sosnovsky, a famous photographer and actor who lived in the besieged city for more than two months.

Mariupol residents write that their life in the blockade resembled a real horror movie, and what was shown on the screens, compared to reality - just fairy tales.

"The problem with the movie is that this movie distorts real events. There were no OSCE vehicles with loudspeakers, nor was there any organized evacuation. There were no lighted rooms in the basements. There were dirty, dark cellars where it was cold and no loaves of bread! There were basements where the living were hiding and the dead were lying in the corner....! It was cold. It was bloody cold and death danced a dance with everyone," wrote one commenter.

And Mariupol journalist Natalia Dedova asked the directors, producers and scriptwriters of "Yurik" whether they used the services of consultants, whether they communicated with Mariupol residents who survived the blockade to have at least some idea of the realities of those events.

"Or were you filming your truth? It's a shame that a movie like this is being made on the tragedy of our city. Who cares about our opinion? Only us. Just like our grief. It's expensive if you serve it with a sweet sauce. And it's very unpalatable when it's bitter. The choice for producers is obvious", - the journalist made her conclusions.

David "Khimik" Kasatkin, a well-known Ukrainian warrior, defender of Mariupol, who was at Azovstal and went through the real hell of Russian captivity, also reacted to the scandal.

In a comment to the publication " Bukva" he said: "Is the movie 'Yurik' based on real events? False. Mariupol was not prepared for war at all. Where did the rumors that it was the most prepared city come from? The mayor and the OSCE were not in the city even before the war started, they knew everything. There was no evacuation from either the mayor or the OSCE, not even an attempt. Some concerned people tried to evacuate, but they were shelled by the Russians. When the Russian aviation destroyed DTEK on the 2nd week of the war, after that all this time in the city there was no light, no water, no gas, there was no communication either. People began to starve. When the Russians were destroying buildings where people were, these people were piled in basements and were screaming to be pulled out, the OSCE did not save them, they were rescued by Azovtsy and other military units. When people were hungry, they were brought food by Azovtsy and other military units, when people sought shelter, they were hidden by Azovtsy and other military units. There is video evidence of all this".

However, Mariupol residents were particularly outraged by the comment of the tape's producer Tatyana Kuts, who actually accused the residents of the city of a full-scale war.

"Mariupol residents went to the referendum and voted for the RF. Now the RF kills not only Mariupol residents, but we are fighting for you too," - issued the filmmaker.

Journalist and writer Nadezhda Sukhorukova reacted to the accusations.

She wrote: "It is very offensive when we are told that we are 'guilty ourselves'. It is our own fault that we were killed every minute. That the Rashists turned our city into a concentration camp, from which there was no chance to get out. No chance to survive. I'm sorry we survived. We don't know how. It was an accident. We did not know that when we came out of hell, we would be told that this horror was our fault."

Another resident of the occupied city, who managed to escape the blockade, called Kuts an outright idiot and accused the movie of "whitewashing" the tragedy and the occupants, covering up the inaction of local authorities, the OSCE and simply lying.

"Most of all I was "shtirilized" by the comment of some .... "producer." This idiot wouldn't have written such a thing if she realized that if all Ukrainian cities had put up such resistance since 2014 as the citizens of Mariupol - there would have been no invasion. But for her, obviously, the war has not lasted 9 years, disgusting, and this will be taken for a ride around Europe, distorting the idea of truth and hell, working not only for the external but also for the internal enemy, whitewashing those responsible for the deaths of about 100 thousand Mariupol residents. Sad. When they write - "on real events", and before the reality there.... But someone is satisfied with the "light" version", - left a comment Marupol resident.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL wrote about the movie "Dovbush" - the most expensive in the history of domestic cinematography. What film critics say about it and why it is worth watching every Ukrainian - read in our material.

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