Crossfire is the investigative documentary by an international team of journalists about two reporters, Andrea Rocchelli and Andrej Mironov, killed in eastern Ukraine, and the Ukrainian soldier Vitaly Markiv accused of their murder
Crossfire an investigative documentary on the death of two journalists, Andrea Rocchelli and Andrej Mironov, killed in the Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on 24 May 2014, was created by a group of Italian and Ukrainian journalists, Cristiano Tinazzi, Olga Tokariuk, Danilo Elia and Ruben Lagattolla.
It aims to shed light on the true circumstances that led to the death of the two journalists and the imprisonment of Vitaly Markiv, a Ukrainian soldier with Italian citizenship accused of being responsible for the killing.
The documentary tries to provide answers to several doubts which have arisen during Markiv’s trial. The trial took place in July 2019, in Pavia, and resulted in a 24 years’ prison sentence in the first instance against Markiv for Rocchelli’s death. Numerous Ukrainian NGOs and some Italian press outlets, as well as human rights organizations like the Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU), have raised doubts over the sentence, claiming it was solely based on circumstantial evidence.
Moreover, ignorance and the influence of Russian propaganda over the Italian media might have played a key role in finding a scapegoat at all costs, despite Markiv having always claimed his innocence.
November 3, 2020: the Court of Appeal in Milan has acquitted the Ukrainian national guard soldier Vitaly Markiv and ordered his release from custody.
December, 10, 2021: The Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy upheld the acquittal of Ukraine’s National Guard member Vitaly Markiv.
The documentary was finally presented on 19 December 2023 in Rome and will soon be shown in Milan, Turin, Bologna and London.
If you want to see Crossfire, you can do it here
Cristiano Tinazzi 