A special screening of the documentary film People of Steel took place recently at the OSCE headquarters in Vienna as part of the Culture vs War project.
After the screening, there was a question-and-answer discussion with director Serhiy Fomenko and Petro Yatsenko, representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. The event was moderated by Yuriy Vitrenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to International Organisations in Vienna.
The aim of the event was to draw the international community's attention to the issue of the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war. The film tells the story of the heroic defence of Mariupol, the inhumane conditions of Russian captivity and the resilience of Ukrainian soldiers, who remain ready to defend their country despite everything.
"A very important component of the war is countering disinformation and toxic propaganda by the terrorist state in Europe and the world. The usual news format of the media does not give the world community a full understanding of the hellish evil that Ukrainians are fighting and the price that Ukraine pays every day in this battle. The special screening of the film People of Steel at the OSCE is an event that draws attention to the situation of Ukrainian prisoners, in particular the defenders of Mariupol from the Azov brigade," emphasised the film's director, Serhiy Fomenko.
The event generated considerable interest among the delegations of the OSCE participating States. The audience included representatives of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Canada, Australia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Lithuania, Albania, Bulgaria, as well as delegations from the EU and other countries.
After the screening, the Ukrainian delegation held separate meetings with Yuriy Vitrenko, Permanent Representative of Ukraine in Vienna, and Vasyl Khymynets, Ambassador of Ukraine to Austria.
The event was organised by the delegations of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden to the OSCE in cooperation with the ‘Watch Ukrainian’ Association, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, and with the support of the ‘MHP-Hromadi’ Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.