SBU charges famous Russian director for inciting nuclear strikes on Ukraine

Vladimir Bortko, the Kyiv-raised Soviet and Russian filmmaker behind the controversial 2009 epic Taras Bulba, has fully transitioned from director to a key voice in Moscow’s wartime propaganda.

Though born and raised in Ukraine, Bortko used his state-funded adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's novel to strip Ukrainian Cossacks of their identity — leading to the film's official ban in Ukraine in 2014.

Today, the former Russian Duma deputy is facing an active criminal investigation by Ukrainian prosecutors.

"According to case materials, the suspect uses the multi-million audience of Russian television channels and internet platforms to justify the full-scale armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine," SBU stated.

Additionally, the agency noted that in the interviews with Russian propagandists, Vladimir Bortko "proposed that Russia's military and political leadership strike Ukraine with tactical nuclear weapons."

Bortko served as a member of the Russian State Duma from 2011 to 2021, where he publicly supported the seizure of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

"Following the start of the full-scale war, the suspect repeatedly appeared on Russian television broadcasts, questioning Ukrainian statehood and calling for the complete occupation of our country's entire territory," SBU added.

Based on the gathered evidence, the Russian director was notified of suspicion in absentia under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Article 436 (war propaganda) and Part 3 of Article 436-2 (justification, recognition as lawful, or denial of the armed aggression of Russia against Ukraine, glorification of its participants using mass media).

Comprehensive measures are now underway to bring the suspect to justice, authorities noted.