“20 Days in Mariupol,” a film produced by GBH’s FRONTLINE, took home the Academy Award for best documentary Sunday night.

The film features Associated Press journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol — they arrived just an hour before Russia began bombing. Together they worked to document the Russian invasion as the only international journalists left in the city.

The documentary was a strong contender in the category — winning awards at this year's BAFTAs and at the Directors Guild of America. The film beat out several other documentary contenders, including Ugandan political documentary “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” and “The Eternal Memory,” which explores a couple dealing with the reality of Alzheimer’s.

In his acceptance speech, director Mstyslav Chernov noted that the award was the first ever Oscar win for a Ukrainian film. He highlighted his conflicting feelings on winning for a film about the war in Ukraine.

“I am honored, but I will probably be the first director on this stage to say that I wish I had never made this film,” he said.

“I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia never attacking Ukraine, never invading our cities. I wish to be able to exchange this for Russia not killing 10,000 of my fellow Ukrainians.”

Chernov urged Russia to stop attacking Ukraine.

"Russians are killing tens of thousands of my fellow Ukrainians. I wish for them to release all the hostages, all the soldiers who are protecting their lands, all the civilians who are now in their jails. But I cannot change the history. I cannot change the past.”

Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath said on Boston Public Radio she is honored that this is the first Oscar win for FRONTLINE.

“I have to say that the FRONTLINE team has worked so hard, this is a film we made with Mstyslav Chernov, we made in-house at GBH,” she said. “This was a really important effort across the board. I would say that FRONTLINE feels very collectively proud of this moment. I would also say it's really important to emphasize that our work continues.”

Aronson-Rath said hearing the crowd cheer for Ukraine’s first ever Oscar win was a gratifying moment.

“For the Ukrainian journalists on the stage, standing next to them, supporting them and really believing in them was a really incredible moment for me,” she said.