Best Ukrainian war movies

Mykola is an eccentric pacifist who wants to be useful to humanity. When the war begins at Donbass, Mykola’s naive world is collapsing as the militants kill his pregnant wife and burn his home to the ground. Recovered, he makes a cardinal decision and gets enlisted in a sniper company. Having met his wife’s killers, he emotionally breaks down and arranges “sniper terror” for the enemy. He’s saved from a senseless death by his instructor who himself gets mortally wounded. The death of a friend leaves a “scar” and Mykola is ready to sacrifice his life.

‘The Cyborgs’ is re-telling the recent history of Ukraine – the legendary fight for Donetsk Airport in 2014 during Russian invasion. The freedom fighters from various divisions of Ukrainian army and volunteer battalions took a 242-days stand against the Russian backed militants until the complete destruction of the airport’s terminal.

A soldier suffering from PTSD befriends a young volunteer hoping to restore peaceful energy to a war-torn society.

The crew of Ukrainian NAVY minesweeper U311 "Cherkasy" is resisting seizure of the vessel by Russian army in Crimea in 2014.

The tale unfolds around an ancient witch from the Ukrainian town of Konotop, who long ago abandoned her extraordinary powers after falling in love with a mortal man. However, tragedy strikes when her beloved is brutally murdered by the russian soldiers as they occupy Konotop in February 2022. Fueled by grief and a thirst for revenge, she reclaims her supernatural abilities, embarking on a blood-soaked quest to mete out justice to her fiancé's killers.

1918 Ukraine. Patriotic students, protagonists of the film, get ready to defend Kyiv and fight heroically in the Battle of Kruty. On this historical background reveals the story of the Savytskyi family - the general of Ukraine's counterintelligence and his two sons, Andrii and Oleksa.

The film tells about the tragic date in the history of the Crimean Tatar people — May 18, 1944 — Stalin’s deportation of the Crimean Tatars. The plot of the film — a pilot, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Amethan Sultan. In May, 1944, a year after liberation of Sevastopol Amethan goes on vacation to his native town Alupka. On May 18 his eyes witness begining of deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

In the autumn of 2014, in the ATO zone, an intelligence group headed by experienced captain Anton Saienko (called by nickname "Banderas") tries to prevent sabotage and neutralize the Russian saboteur.

The story of trust and its absence against the background of events unfolding in Eastern Ukraine in early 2014. The main topic is revealed through the prism of the Luhansk border base, whose fighters the separatists and Russian special services tried unsuccessfully force to betray their country.

Based on a true story. Two fighters of 'Donbas' Volunteer Battalion get locked inside city of Ilovaysk after regular Russian army enters Ukraine and shells the surrounded divisions of Ukrainian Army in the infamous would-be 'green corridor'. The fighters survive thanks to the help of the locals and manage to break out through the front line to reach the freed territory. Taras Kostanchuk who is playing himself as 'Beshoot' is that same Donbas commander who is the prototype of the story. Half of the actors and extras are real 'Donbas' volunteers who survived the battle.

Ukraine 1922. The Russian empire has already broken up, but a new state has not yet been formed. Many tried to create and consolidate their independence during this period, and this is the story of one of such people. This is the story of the life and love of one person - Ivan, nicknamed Raven ...

A motivational documentary in an artistic style about how ordinary people become professional soldiers, find their true purpose in war and form the newest Ukrainian military culture. Based on real events and key battles of a full-scale war.

"Myth" was the callsign of Vasyl Slipak, the world-famous Ukrainian opera singer, a soloist of the Parisian National Opera, who left the big stage to become a volunteer, a warrior fighting in the East of Ukraine. The Hero of Ukraine, the Knight of the Order "Golden Star" and the Order "For Courage", Vasyl Slipak gave his life, defending Ukraine. This documentary is a real story of heroism and self-sacrifice, which makes us think over our own lives.

Documentary about specific phases of the battle for the Donetsk airport and about the hero-fighters of the Ukrainian Volunteer corps in Pisky. The film presents the war in extreme focus – adrenaline, humor, pain, anguish, and courage are tightly packed into 82 minutes of screen time. It shows scenes of the battle, evacuation of the wounded, the capture of the new airport terminal, and civilians, who live near the fighting’s epicenter. It features death and frontline humor, and a bit of philosophical discussions as well.

Ukrainian musicians of all genres, from metal to opera, transform their passion for music into devotion to their country in this moving documentary. Beginning on the very first day of the Russian invasion, Soldiers of Song documents how the lives of its cast of Ukrainian musicians have irrevocably changed and how they use their musical talents to support themselves and their communities. Using shocking footage from the frontlines, this film reminds us not only of the ongoing tragedies that continue to happen during this war, but also of the resilience of Ukraine and its cultural forces. Here music functions not only to lift the spirits of the soldiers, but also as a cultural export to raise awareness of the war, a tool for raising humanitarian and military funds, and a valuable cultural artifact for everyday Ukrainians to rally around and protect. The musician’s commitment to their craft reminds us of the real power art has and the impact of beauty under catastrophic circumstances.

Personal videos from the phones, camcorders, cameras and GoPros of Ukrainian soldiers are woven into a surreal journey to the frontline of the war with Russia. The film shows a bizarre world whose laws are quite different from what we are used to. The behaviour is different, the relationships unfold differently and the humour takes on different notes. The heroes wake up and fall asleep, rejoice and cry, always feeling that the recording may end at any moment.

In the adaptation of a poem by Taras Shevchenko in the last third of XVIII a small fraction of 300 Cossacks who were enslaving their own people for Turkey and were executed by other Zaporizhian Sich Cossacks are reanimated as living dead at one cold night.

This is a portrait of a man, for whom the war in Eastern Ukraine has become a personal challenge. Beard is a native of the Donbas, a man of about forty-five, a family guy, an ordinary worker. Director is a young man of about twenty-six, single, a west-man, coming from the intelligentsia. This is the usual day of the ordinary military. These are events and people whom you can meet there. This is the relationship between people who have to be here and now during the war. This is not only a unique life experience but also a kind of cultural exchange between different social strata and communities. This is the birth of new, special traditions.

The film centers on Ukrainian surgeon Serhiy, who is captured by the Russian military forces in the conflict zone in Eastern Ukraine, and while in captivity, he is exposed to horrifying scenes of humiliation, violence and indifference toward human life. After his release, he returns to his comfortable middle-class apartment and tries to find a purpose in life by rebuilding his relationship with his daughter and ex-wife. He learns how to be a human being again, how to be a father and help his daughter, who needs his love and support.

Popasna is located in Luhansk in the Donbas region. In 2019, the battle threat is still in the air and many in the population have fled. Still, every morning the children go to one of the few elementary schools that is still open.

The story of war, love and death that was documented by the immediate participants of events. Off screen and later on it are the two - a boy and a girl. He volunteered for the front; she went to the place just after the battle. He got into Ilovaysk cauldron, lost his closest brother-soldiers. She, while travelling along the ruined towns, strives to understand the essence of war and love. Both tell openly one another about their feelings during the war, escaping the cauldron, a try to live together after, and a common trip to the frontline.

"Stronger than Arms", is the history that heats our hearts up with the memory of events and people, who from the time of Euromaidan to the war in the East were building a new Ukraine.

The Ukrainian film "Lift Force" (Підйомна сила), released in 2024, is a documentary centered on the heroic efforts of Ukrainian pilots during the ongoing war. Directed by Oleksandr Stratiyenko, it explores the real-life challenges these aviators face, capturing both the intense danger and emotional strain of combat missions. Produced by the Aerotim team, the film highlights the resilience and professionalism of Ukrainian aircrews operating under extreme conditions.

An average soldier is caught up in the cogs of an inhuman war machine during the First World War.

In 1950, long after the world has finished fighting World War II, a fight continues behind the newly drawn Iron Curtain: as the Ukrainians keep fighting both Nazi and Soviet abuses, General Roman Shukhevych (Hryhoriy Hladiy) is forced by brutal circumstances and his own sense of honor and duty to lead this effort as an underground war. As portrayed by the film, Shukhevych is a genteel family man who is also a complex character (revolted by ethnic discrimination, a music lover and a military genius) that with his charisma fuels his countrymen with desire for freedom. In the end, Shukhevych's efforts are unable to defeat the Soviets despite paying for his resistance with his life, but they re-enforce Ukrainian patriotism as an underground force until Ukraine finally recovers its freedom from Soviet tyranny.

A small group of Russian soldiers with mixed skills are assembled to go on a covert mission to map out the area of Hitler's new HQ in the Ukraine known as Wehrwolf. But it's not until they get to their destination that the squads leader then decides to unveil the true details of the mission.

Film reconstruction of five real stories about the heroic deeds of the residents of Kyiv region during the Russian occupation. A story about those who heroically and selflessly saved tens of thousands of Ukrainian lives.

A woman struggles with the isolation of being confined as a prisoner in a war-torn country.

How to repay parental debt on the other side of the front line? Why would a doctor kill and when to believe the enemy? How is the war in eastern Ukraine different from any other war in the world? A war drama about the stories of two families, where adult men took up arms and thus crossed their destinies.

Bolshevists aim to set their rules on the lands of the Western Ukraine repeatedly occupied by them. UPA – the partisan army – resists their policy. Civil population becomes a hostage of this war "without rules", and above all – relatives of the insurgents. Invaders and their allies cruelly torture Ukrainian people, but the struggle continues. Irritated, "bolshevists" start evicting people to Siberia. UPA tries to prevent this action, but the forces are not equal... Insurgents can only take revenge and punish the executioners.

Two mirror situations: telephone conversation of a Russian soldier with his mother, and a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who also communicates with his own, during the Russian military aggression. Why is there such a huge gulf between our people and their people? Perhaps the answer to this question lies in the difference in relationship with mothers.

The film tells the story of a married couple of civilians who came under intense fire from the enemy Russian army in the Izyum region in their car. The 93rd "Kholodny Yar" military brigade, not having the opportunity to safely approach Ukrainian civilians, conducted an unprecedented rescue operation with the help of drones. The plot is based on real events.

The film tells the story of how a sense of patriotism, responsibility and love for the Motherland united the residents of the Ukrainian village of Troianivka during World War II.

The main character is a colonel, Hero of Ukraine, presently the airborne forces commander, and up until March 2015 the commander of the 95th air brigade. His name is Mikhail Zabrodsky, and he leads not just his 95th brigade but all the other Highly Mobile Airborne Forces. Just as all of us, he wants the Ukrainian warriors not to die any more, be they troopers, tankmen or cannoneers. “I would happily give up the star of the Hero of Ukraine in exchange for peace,” the colonel says. The film plot is based on the longest crackdown in military history, which took place in August 2014 from Mariupol (which was reached after breaking the enemy’s defense) to Slavyansk; 470 kilometers in total, out of which 170 kilometers were to the other side of the front line.