Dateline: July 25

Tonight on Dateline is Combat Medics, produced by the New York Times.

The work of two Pulitzer-winning war reporters has offered a rare glimpse into the struggles faced by Ukrainians on the frontline and exposed the brutality of Russian forces.

While the two journalists primarily focus on documentary filmmaking, one of their most noteworthy works is an investigation into alleged Russian atrocities in the small Ukrainian town of Bucha that was liberated in April 2022.

The month-long Russian occupation of Bucha, about 25 kilometres northwest of Kyiv, had virtually cut it off from the outside world. After Ukrainian forces retook control of the town, they discovered hundreds of bodies of local residents — men, women and children — on the streets and in mass graves. The Russian government denied the accusations of a massacre saying images of bodies were a ‘staged performance’ by Kyiv.

What happened in Bucha became one of the defining moments of the war and helped galvanise international support for Ukraine. Similar atrocities against civilians such as summary executions, torture, rape, and forced disappearances would later be documented by international human rights groups and Ukrainian investigators in other areas that had been under Russian occupation.

9:30pm tonight on SBS.