The Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius was abducted by Russian soldiers and executed, according to 15min.lt. It was previously reported that he was killed when a missile hit his car near Mariupol, Ukraine.
15min.lt quotes Kvedaravičius’ associate, Ukrainian journalist Albina Lvutina, who says that the true circumstances of his death were kept hidden until his body was recovered and delivered to Lithuania.
Read more: Lithuanian filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravičius killed in Ukraine
“Heartless Russian soldiers abducted Mantas and murdered him. And then just left him there,” 15min.lt quotes Lvutina’s post on Facebook.
Kvedaravičius’ body reached Lithuania on Tuesday, according to 15min.lt, after being transported through Russia and Latvia. It will be examined by forensic experts.
It was earlier reported that the Lithuanian filmmaker was killed on April 2 near Mariupol by a missile hitting his car. According to Lvutina, this was purposeful falsification in order to make sure his body could be recovered from Russian-controlled areas.
“Few people knew about the death, but once the media got hold of the information, it was impossible to contain it,” Lvutina said. “We may have never discovered the truth or even said goodbye to Mantas. He was not killed in his car by a missile, as the media reported. He was shot.”
Moreover, Kvedaravičius was killed before April 2, according to the Ukrainian journalist. When news broke about his death, Kvedaravičius’ wife was at the border about to leave Russia with the body, Lvutina said.
The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office said on Monday it would investigate Kvedaravičius’ death as part of a probe of war crimes committed in Ukraine.
Kvedaravičius, 45, debuted as a filmmaker in 2011 with Barzakh, an award-winning documentary about war-torn Chechnya. In 2016, his documentary Mariupol was selected for the Berlinale.
His producer Uljana Kim has told 15min.lt that Kvedaravičius had been filming a new documentary in Uganda. However, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in late February, Kvedaravičius left for Mariupol, a city in the south east of Ukraine, to document the war.
He had been working in Ukraine since mid-March, according to Kim.
Condolences from Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has extended condolences over Kvedaravičius’ death.
“On behalf of myself personally and the people of Ukraine, I would like to extend my deepest condolences over the murder of the well-known film director Mantas Kvedaravičius in Mariupol by the Russian occupiers,” his letter sent to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda reads.
The letter was forwarded to BNS by the Ukrainian Embassy in Vilnius.
“I am convinced that Mantas Kvedaravičius, a distinguished son of the Lithuanian land, who chose a brave path to serve the Truth and Freedom of the Word, will live forever in our hearts,” the Ukrainian president said in the letter.
The Lithuanian filmmaker’s unique footage of Mariupol will remain as a world cinematographic achievement, he said.
According to Zelensky, Kvedaravičius' life, artistic legacy, and sacrifice will inspire others to fight for truth, freedom, and justice.
“This is what the future of today’s democratic and free Ukraine depends on, as well as the future of Europe as a whole,” the letter reads.
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