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EXCLUSIVE: On February 24, 2022 Sean Penn and his documentary filmmaking team got up before dawn in Kyiv in anticipation of a planned interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Suddenly, explosions shattered the quiet and missile fire turned the darkened sky to malevolent orange. Russia’s full-scale attack on its neighbor had begun — what President Vladimir Putin later that day euphemistically dubbed a “special military operation.”

When Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it is understood that he believed a takeover would only take a few days.

Today marks one full year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began and fears remain that it could last for another.

On this day last year, Vladimir Putin ordered his troops across the Ukraine border, marking the start of a deadly conflict which has taken the lives of thousands.

A year ago today, the world woke up to war.

Zack Sharf Back in 2001, Sean Penn found himself next to Jack Nicholson in a speeding car on the way to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin. The two actors were in Russia for the world premiere of “The Pledge” at the Moscow Film Festival. The Penn-directed psychological drama starred Nicholson as a retiring police detective who vows to catch the killer of a young child. Penn recently spoke to The Independent about his anxiety-inducing journey to meet Putin. “We were put in a convoy,” Penn said. “We knew that Putin was going to be the honored guest. In the nature of that time and space, we accepted the invitation. We got in this convoy, and we were going as fast as they wanted to drive, with no care for whether it might have presented danger in the villages we drove through.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has told Ukrainian refugees living in the country that Scotland will be their home for as long as they need it to be, one-year on from the Russian invasion.

Broadcast and cable networks are planning specials, a town hall and other coverage Thursday tied to the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Correspondents also will report from sites around the country, with Vladimir Putin’s regime mounting a winter offensive.

tweeted that “We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” drawing furious responses from the left and more moderate right.“This is so laughable because blue states as we all know are the donor states, or the states where taxpayers take it on the chin to take care of districts like Marjorie Taylor Greene’s, to take care of districts across taxes where Ted Cruz talks about secession,” host Joe Scarborough said on Tuesday’s episode of “Morning Joe.”“What is it that so deeply offends [Republicans], like three trans athletes in Utah want to swim? Is that real?” he asked guest commentator Charlie Sykes.Both agreed that calls for a “national divorce” were not to be taken as a serious possibility, but rather as a tactic to collect funds from right-wing supporters.“It’s fascinating that they’re so desperate to raise money from small donors, they’re actually willing to say, we need to have a civil war,” Scarborough pointed out.Sykes agreed that their motives were purely “to keep racheting up the outrage.” Still, such rhetoric is not without danger, he said.“People like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Ron DeSantis are appealing to the id of the party, the id of the right, which is anti-Ukraine, which is willing to tolerate this sort of notion that our real enemy is not Vladimir Putin.

Christopher Vourlias The war in Ukraine has taken center stage this week at the Berlin Film Festival, which is taking place for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year. At Thursday’s opening ceremony, Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskyy appeared via satellite to encourage festival-goers “not to remain silent” over Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Sean Penn, who this week premiered his docu-portrait of the Ukrainian leader, “Superpower,” lashed out at Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, who he described as a “war criminal” and a “creepy little bully.” Moral outrage has not been in short supply since the start of the war, as the global film community — in a show of near unanimous condemnation of the Kremlin’s criminal attack — has rallied behind the Ukrainian war effort. But many U.S. and foreign companies quietly continue to do business with Putin’s pariah state or have resumed the deal-making that was put on pause once the war began.

Investigative journalist Christo Grozev, a key figure in the story of acclaimed documentary Navalny, says he and his family have been banned from attending the BAFTA ceremony on Sunday because he poses “a public security risk”.

Sean Penn has reiterated his offer to have one of his Oscars melted down by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky – saying his gift to the battling leader was inspired by his “continuing shame towards the Motion Picture Academy.”

Christopher Vourlias Sean Penn said he was happy to be a “propagandist” for the Ukrainian war effort and called Russian president Vladimir Putin a “creepy little bully” Saturday in Berlin, after the world premiere of his gonzo documentary “Superpower,” a gripping, courage-under-fire portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “This is not an unbiased film because this is not an ambiguous war,” he said, calling the conflict “extremely personal.” “I’m very happy to be considered a propagandist. I was happy to make an unbiased film because that is the true story we found.” Donning a black jacket and hoodie and sporting a camouflage trucker cap, Penn repeatedly called on the Biden administration to send precision, long-range missiles to Kyiv to support the Ukrainian war effort.

Roughly three quarters of the way into Superpower, the documentary about the war in Ukraine directed by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman, the Oscar-winning actor displays a fixed-blade knife while traveling by car through the embattled country. He jokes to the camera, “All of Ukraine should feel safe now that I’m armed.” He adds, holding up fists clenched like a boxer’s, “Plus, I’ve got these.”

A Berlin embassy spy was been jailed for more than 13 years after betraying his country and colleagues by selling secrets to Russia. David Smith, a former security guard at the British Embassy in Germany, was motivated by his support for Russian president Vladimir Putin and hatred of the UK when he began collecting classified documents in 2018.

Scots spy David Ballantyne Smith was a lonely ex-serviceman who turned traitor while consuming online conspiracy theories and pro-Putin propaganda, the Old Bailey heard.

A Scots spy in Berlin who sold secrets to Russia has been jailed for more than 13 years for betraying his country and colleagues.

EXCLUSIVE: Vladimir Putin is set to get the Keeping Up With The Kardashians treatment in a deep fake project for Channel 4.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features Sean Penn went to war and a movie broke out. That is, in effect, the story behind the making of the documentary “Superpower,” a gripping cinematic portrait of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on the eve of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  Co-directed by Penn and Aaron Kaufman, who helmed the 2021 documentary “Crusaders: Ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses Speak Out,” “Superpower” bows Feb. 17, out of competition, as a Berlinale Special Gala at the Berlin Film Festival. Fifth Season and Vice Studios are behind the film, with Fifth Season selling worldwide rights. “Superpower” was not conceived as a war story. Rather, Penn and Kaufman, as well as producer Billy Smith, endeavored to chart the trajectory of Zelensky’s unusual career trajectory — from actor-comedian-producer playing a history teacher elected as Ukraine’s president in the satirical TV series “Servant of the People,” to a rising political star elected as the real-life president of Ukraine in 2019. The intent was to relay a tale about an everyman — in Zelensky’s case, a Ukrainian, Russian-speaking Jew born under Soviet rule in the late 1970s — who finds himself at the helm of a fledgling democratic nation burning to embrace freedom. A Ukrainian president elected on an anti-corruption platform who, very soon post-election, finds himself in the crosshairs of an American president’s impeachment. 

Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has recounted her dramatic escape from Moscow, a week before she was due to face trial for interrupting a live broadcast on Russian TV to criticise her country’s invasion of Ukraine

Alec Baldwin is already facing involuntary manslaughter charges and a potential five years in prison if found guilty for the 2021 fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins, and now the parents and sister of the slain of Rust cinematographer have filed a lawsuit of their own.

Mediaset CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi has given his verdict on an upcoming video appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Italy’s iconic Sanremo song festival, adding fuel to an ongoing political debate around the operation.

Liev Schreiber urged a crowd of D.C. lawmakers, ambassadors and media figures for continued support for Ukrainians as the one-year anniversary nears of Russia’s attempted invasion.

Boris Johnson has claimed that Vladimir Putin threatened to murder him in a rocket attack last year, the Mirror reports. The fomer UK PM alleges in a new three-part BBC documentary that the Russian President warned him: “I don’t want to hurt you, but with a missile, it would only take a minute.”

It’s probably impossible to rank Donald Trump scandals. We’d be here all day! But this is definitely one of the biggest from a rule of law perspective. It’s just, you know, a bit late to the game. But you know what? We know about it now!

It is difficult to imagine the scale of atrocities committed by Russia in Ukraine without the benefit of video evidence. Fortunately, some documentary filmmakers are bringing those images to the world so that the brutal reality of the unprovoked assault cannot be ignored.

Welcome to Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on the key executives and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week, we’re talking with James and Soleta Rogan, the founders of prolific UK documentary indie Rogan Productions, with past credits including Black Power, Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation and Netflix’s My Daughter’s Killer. The pair discuss a rollercoaster 10 years in which they have secured multiple BAFTAs, worked with Steve McQueen and are now winning big business from the streamers.

The award-winning documentary Navalny could be crowned with an Oscar nomination later this month, but the man whose story is told in it has never seen the film. Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, remains behind bars under a lengthy sentence after daring to criticize President Vladimir Putin.

A 40ft lorry full of thousands of gifts for children and packed with essential aid has left Scotland for war-torn Ukraine.

A Scots garage owner fighting on the frontline in Ukraine will spend the festive period with his comrades in the trenches. Adam Ennis, 35, travelled from Biggar to the war-torn country in March after Vladimir Putin's horrific invasion.