MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. The premiere of the documentary Airport, directed by Andrey Kondrashov, the General Director of TASS News Agency, will be broadcast on August 9 on the Russia-1 TV Channel. This compelling film offers a gripping account of the pivotal events of 2014, beginning with the tragic morning of May 26, when a flight from Donetsk to Kiev took off from Sergey Prokofiev Airport - Ukraine’s proud aviation hub - just hours before war erupted in Donbass.

Airport shines a light on the heroes of that conflict - individuals largely ignored by the West for eight years - whose courage and resilience helped Russia intervene and in a bid to bring an end to the chaos. Kondrashov reflects, "This is a film about the brave men and women who resisted the Bandera-style, Nazi-inspired coup, standing up to defend the Russian world within them - miners, taxi drivers, entrepreneurs, construction workers, and doctors who refused to surrender their cultural identity."

He emphasizes that the residents of Donbass fought to preserve their right to speak their native language, to remain Russian, and to uphold their rich cultural heritage. "They endured brutal battles, the most iconic of which was the fight at Donetsk Airport," Kondrashov notes. "This decisive confrontation determined not only Donetsk’s survival but also the very existence of the Donetsk People’s Republic. At the time, the DPR was newly formed, yet it faced regular troops and thousands of nationalist battalion fighters turning against their own citizens."

Combining archival footage with eyewitness testimonies, Airport recounts the harrowing 242-day battle - comparable to Stalingrad in its significance - marking a turning point in the conflict. Kondrashov concludes, "This battle changed the course of history. It proved that we can overcome any adversary, as long as we stand united and defend our Motherland."