Vitalii Havura

Author

Vitalii Havura

War Crimes Investigations Unit Film Director

Vitalii Havura is a film director with the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Team. He has authored and directed works: Chacho (best short film version FIPRESCI on the 11th Odesa International Film Festival, 2020), documentary film My God (Modern Ukrainian Cinema festival award, 2019), documentary film Romani Dance (Bardak festival award, 2021), fiction films The Fairytale (Kinohvylia festival award, 2018), theatrical play Mother Will Always Protect (Actual Play Week festival award, 2017), theatrical play Monkeys with oranges (Lesya Ukrainka National Academic Theater, 2022), theatrical play OurResponsAbility (ProEnglish Theatre, 2022), music-documentary project Kontur (Suspilne.Kultura, 2023). Vitalii holds a degree in directing from Kyiv National I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Theatre, Cinema, and Television University and a degree in cultural studies from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

Articles

Video

Inside a prison where Russia tortured Ukrainian POWs. Investigation by the Kyiv Independent

by Yevheniia Motorevska, Vitalii HavuraDecember 7, 2023

Among the Russian camps for Ukrainian prisoners of war, the most notorious one is Olenivka, in Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast. This prison-turned-camp became infamous due to reports of abuse and torture inflicted upon its prisoners. Who runs this prison?

Video

BULLET HOLES | An investigation into Russia’s systemic killings of Ukrainian children

by Danylo Mokryk, Vitalii HavuraSeptember 14, 2023

The Kyiv Independent’s findings point to the systemic and deliberate nature of child murders by the Russian military in Ukraine. Our in-depth investigation allowed us to identify those responsible for the killing of a child.

Video

UPROOTED | An investigation into Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children

by Olesia Bida, Vitalii HavuraJuly 21, 2023

The Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigation Unit established the names of Russian-controlled officials who took part in the abduction and followed the paths of families who risked their lives to bring their children back.

Editors' Picks

National Police of Ukraine’s White Angels unit in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on June 19, 2025.

Author

Vitalii Havura

Articles

Inside a prison where Russia tortured Ukrainian POWs. Investigation by the Kyiv Independent

BULLET HOLES | An investigation into Russia’s systemic killings of Ukrainian children

UPROOTED | An investigation into Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children

Editors' Picks

What the fall of Pokrovsk would mean for Ukraine — and Russia

How a trio of power brokers turned Putin’s US strategy into a quiet turf war

'They could go after anyone' — Ukraine’s ex-energy chief on Zelensky’s blackout blame game

Analysis: With all eyes on Pokrovsk, Russia drives forward in Zaporizhzhia Oblast