Documentary Short Film Inspired By ‘Yours Eternally’

“… the beating human heart of those incredible men and women, the struggles and sacrifices they are making everyday for the most sacred thing on this planet – freedom.”

Today, on the 4th anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian cinematographer and filmmaker, and a member of the Khartiya Corps, Ilya Mikhaylus released a 4½-minute documentary short film inspired by U2’s “Yours Eternally” (ft. Ed Sheeran & Ukrainian singer Taras Topolia) from their Days of Ash EP.

Produced by Pyotr Verzilov and shot during the winter of 2025 while Mikhaylus and his crew were embedded alongside the Khartiya Corps, the film captures the extraordinary daily lives of Alina and her fellow soldiers from Khartiya Corps fighting on the frontlines of the war in the Kharkiv region. The short is part of a full-scale documentary set to be released by Mikhaylus and team at the end of 2026..

Documentary director Ilya Mikhaylus said: “For four years, Ukraine has been resisting Russia’s full-scale invasion, and the soldiers of the Khartiya Corps are among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians defending their homeland. In this short film, and in the upcoming full-length documentary, we attempt to show the beating human heart of those incredible men and women, the struggles and sacrifices they are making everyday for the most sacred thing on this planet – freedom.”

Read the full story behind the making of the new short film in Propaganda, a 52 page digital zine published to coincide with ‘Days of Ash’. Includes interviews with director Ilya Mikhaylus and  producer Pyotr Verzilov as well as athlete Alina Shukh who features in the film and musician Taras Topolia who inspired the song.

Yours Eternally, Documentary Short Film.
Director: Ilya Mikhaylus / Producer: Pyotr Verzilov / Executive Producers (Original Documentary Production): Maksym Serdiuk, Artem Hryhorian (KNIFE! Films) / Editors: Ilya Mikhaylus, Yaroslav Korotkov, Kyrylo Postnikov
Cinematographers: Ilya Mikhaylus, Yaroslav Korotkov, Pavlo Itkin, Stepan Pavlyuk, Sasha Tuz, Alla Savytska, Kyrylo Postnikov, Katya Gimro / Special Thanks to Art Action Foundation – John Caldwell & Nadya Tolokonnikova.
This film would not be possible without soldiers from the 2nd “Khartiya” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine, CorpsCommander Colonel Ihor Obolenskiy and Vsevolod Kozhemyako.