UPDATE: Netflix says it will suspend service in Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
Original Story:Netflix has made Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, its documentary about the Ukrainian revolution of 2014, free to watch on YouTube as a show of support for the country.
Winter on Fire debuted on Netflix in 2015. The documentary received widespread praise: It was nominated for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and other accolades; it also won the People's Choice Award for best documentary at the Toronto International Film Festival.
This glimpse into Ukraine's politics—and its people's willingness to fight to support their beliefs—has found new relevance during the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. Netflix says:
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom is available now on YouTube and Netflix. YouTube's statistics indicate that the 98-minute-long documentary has received more than 250,000 views less than 24 hours after Netflix published it on the platform.
Now the question is how the Russian government, which previously demanded that YouTube stop limiting the reach of state media and restricted access to Facebook and Twitter over similar complaints, will respond to Netflix's efforts to make this documentary more widely available.
Not that Netflix seems particularly worried. Wired reported last week that the company had already decided it wouldn't comply with a Russian law requiring it to broadcast 20 state-funded media channels over concerns about its platform being used to spread misinformation.