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Viewers like you make
this program possible.
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Support your local PBS station.
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♪
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[soldier singing]
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[radio chatter]
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[explosion booms]
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[soldier muttering]
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[indistinct speaking
over radio]
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[soldier spits out debris]
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[sighing]
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[distant gunfire]
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-[chatter]
-[explosion booms]
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[chatter on radio]
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[gunfire echoes in distance]
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[nearby gunfire]
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[gunfire continues]
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[rapid firing]
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[soldier exhaling]
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[chatter on radio]
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[explosion booms]
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[mortar whistles]
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-[distant men shouting]
-[mortars exploding]
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[man exclaiming]
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[men shouting]
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[engine revving]
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[engine continues revving]
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[engine continues revving]
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[soldier grunts]
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-[explosions boom]
-[men screaming]
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[thunder rumbles]
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[distant gunfire
and explosions intensify]
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[Piro shouts]
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[groaning in pain]
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[Piro groaning in pain]
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[distant explosion booms]
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[mortar whistles by, explodes]
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♪
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[wind blowing]
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♪
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REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
Both Ukraine and Russia
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are reporting fierce fighting
along the frontlines.
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REPORTER 2 [voice-over]:
Ukrainian forces have
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now launched their much talked
about counteroffensive.
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REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
The new counteroffensive,
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expected to be the biggest
military operation in Europe
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since World War II.
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REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Russian forces
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are concentrated,
they are deeply embedded.
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They've been building
fortifications and defenses.
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With virtually no independent
reporting from the frontlines,
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it's impossible to assess
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the degree to which
Ukraine's operation is underway
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or whether it's having success.
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MSTYSLAV CHERNOV [voice-over]:
I want to tell you a story.
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A story thousands of years old.
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A story of men
fighting for their land.
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There is a forest
in Eastern Ukraine,
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a narrow strip of trees
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squeezed between
two minefields.
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The only way to Andriivka,
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a village on
the outskirts of Bakhmut.
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This is a story of this forest
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and the people who will
remain there forever.
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♪
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6:00 a.m.
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We are in the 3rd Assault
Brigade headquarters.
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The Ukrainian counteroffensive
is underway.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Here on the eastern front,
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the brigade's task
had been to move through
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2,000 meters,
approximately one mile,
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of the heavily fortified forest
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and capture the strategic
village of Andriivka.
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This would cut
the Russian supply road
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to the occupied city
of Bakhmut.
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And we want to be there
when it happens.
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But it's hard for journalists
to get to the battlefield.
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Our only chance is
to meet with Fedya,
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the officer on the ground.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He is busy.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Duda, the coordinating officer,
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has an idea.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]: We manage
to convince them to take us.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Duda tells us we are idiots
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for wanting to go.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Duda sends a flag
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and a note to Fedya.
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If Andriivka is liberated,
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his task will be
to raise the flag.
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[bullets clattering]
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CHERNOV [voice-over]: Wearing
the blue journalist vest
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on the battlefield
is no longer an option.
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It makes us priority targets.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
If we are lucky,
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today we'll get to Fedya
and film him raising the flag.
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But we are all nervous.
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The forest
leading to the village
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has killed many men.
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[gear clattering]
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[door slams shut]
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Before departing,
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I kept looking at the map.
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2,000 meters.
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Three months.
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It didn't make sense.
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Why did it take so long?
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Then they showed us.
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Videos from
helmet cameras, drones.
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Records of
all the violent battles
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on the way to Andriivka.
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Each one an attempt
to get closer.
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Each one taking its toll.
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[bullets bouncing off vehicle]
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-[guns rapid-firing]
-[men screaming]
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[bullets echoing]
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[men yelling]
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-[explosion booms]
-[men groaning]
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[tank fires]
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[gun clicking]
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[gun firing]
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[soldier panting]
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[distant explosion echoes]
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[gunfire echoing]
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♪
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CHERNOV [voice-over]: Some of
these battles gained ground.
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Some pushed the brigade back.
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But they kept fighting.
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And now we follow their steps.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
8:30 a.m.
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Our transport
reaches the forest.
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One of the soldiers tells me,
"It's like landing on a planet
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where everything
is trying to kill you."
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But it's not another planet,
I tell myself.
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It's the middle of Europe.
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Now we have to get to Fedya.
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But instead of him,
we meet one of his soldiers
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with the call sign "Freak."
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He calls us "pencils"
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so that the Russians
intercepting radio chatter
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don't know we arrived.
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
The battles moved forward,
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closer to the village,
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leaving the destroyed armored
vehicles and bodies behind.
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The fields and the roads around
were mined by the Russians.
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The forest is the only way.
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[distant explosion booms]
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CHERNOV [voice-over]: The
village is 2,000 meters ahead.
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00:26:12,483 --> 00:26:16,009
35 seconds for
a mortar shell to fly.
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A two-minute drive.
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A ten-minute run.
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00:26:20,579 --> 00:26:23,407
But here, time doesn't matter.
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Distance does.
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And it's measured by pauses
between the explosions.
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[explosion booms]
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[explosion booms]
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00:27:05,362 --> 00:27:07,103
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
I hear over the radio
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that Fedya is
in the middle of the fight.
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The battle in Andriivka
is raging.
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[man speaks on radio]
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[explosion booms]
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[helicopter whirring
in distance]
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[laughing]
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[explosions boom in distance]
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[laughter]
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[chatter over radio]
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
As we talk,
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I'm thinking about Andriivka,
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focusing on the radio chatter
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and losing the thread
of the conversation.
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But the camera keeps recording.
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Freak was 12 when Russia
invaded Ukraine in 2014.
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When the full-scale
invasion started,
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he left university,
returned to his hometown,
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and joined
the territorial defense.
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From there, he moved
to the 3rd Assault Brigade.
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At the time we speak, he is 22.
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Five months from now,
he will be injured in a battle
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for another forest,
his body never found.
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♪
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Freak told us how the brigade
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fought for this part
of the forest,
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trying to push Russians
from their trenches.
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Halfway to Andriivka.
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Their helmet cameras captured
every step of the battle.
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[soldier yelling]
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[gunshots firing]
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[machine guns firing]
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[soldier shouting]
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[gunshots firing]
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00:36:04,684 --> 00:36:06,251
[soldier screams]
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00:36:21,570 --> 00:36:24,182
[gunshots firing]
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00:36:24,312 --> 00:36:25,357
[soldier groans]
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00:36:29,970 --> 00:36:30,884
[soldier groans]
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00:36:40,415 --> 00:36:41,677
[man speaking on radio]
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00:36:41,851 --> 00:36:43,288
[rocket whizzes by
and explodes]
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00:36:53,254 --> 00:36:55,213
[gunshots firing]
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00:36:58,564 --> 00:37:00,479
[men talking]
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00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:25,112
[rocket whizzes by
and explodes]
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00:37:32,728 --> 00:37:34,556
[man speaking on radio]
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00:38:13,508 --> 00:38:14,988
[gunshots firing]
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00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:01,050
[man speaking on radio]
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00:40:02,269 --> 00:40:04,227
[projectile whizzes by]
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
It's now 10:00 a.m.
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00:40:17,850 --> 00:40:21,506
We are still pinned down
in this damned foxhole,
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waiting to get to Fedya.
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00:40:32,865 --> 00:40:34,954
-[drones buzzing]
-[gunfire in distance]
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00:42:31,505 --> 00:42:34,856
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
At last, we start moving.
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00:42:35,030 --> 00:42:38,686
Andriivka is now
1,000 meters ahead.
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Halfway.
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00:42:42,603 --> 00:42:44,649
The smell of death, explosives,
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and freshly cut trees
becomes stronger.
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I try to focus on
what needs to be done.
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00:42:55,050 --> 00:42:58,053
We need to be there
when Fedya raises the flag.
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00:43:16,419 --> 00:43:19,379
[explosions rumbling
in distance]
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00:43:27,561 --> 00:43:29,476
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
11:00 a.m.
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00:43:29,650 --> 00:43:31,130
We finally reach Fedya.
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00:43:36,048 --> 00:43:38,050
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
His first question to us:
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00:43:38,224 --> 00:43:40,139
"Where are your guns?"
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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Fedya is 24.
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00:44:16,131 --> 00:44:18,612
Battle-promoted to sergeant.
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00:44:18,786 --> 00:44:21,963
He has a scar on his lip from
playing war in his childhood
221
00:44:22,094 --> 00:44:24,662
and a job in a warehouse
before the invasion.
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00:44:37,892 --> 00:44:39,328
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Freak gives him the flag
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and a note from headquarters,
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00:44:42,070 --> 00:44:44,638
and he settles in a dugout
to read it.
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00:45:50,443 --> 00:45:51,923
[explosions boom in distance]
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00:46:17,209 --> 00:46:19,211
CHERNOV [voice-over]: I knew
what he meant when he said
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00:46:19,341 --> 00:46:22,127
he never wanted
to be a soldier.
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00:46:22,301 --> 00:46:23,302
None of us did.
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00:46:37,011 --> 00:46:38,621
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
When we were children,
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00:46:38,752 --> 00:46:41,755
every boy in the school
got military lessons.
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00:46:43,539 --> 00:46:46,804
We marched, assembled
and disassembled Kalashnikovs.
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00:46:48,196 --> 00:46:49,937
We shot.
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00:46:50,111 --> 00:46:52,897
Ten bullets for each young man.
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00:46:54,159 --> 00:46:57,292
But few of us saw
any point in this.
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00:46:57,466 --> 00:47:00,252
There was no one to fight with.
236
00:47:00,382 --> 00:47:02,123
We had no enemies.
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00:47:12,003 --> 00:47:13,395
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Before each battle,
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00:47:13,569 --> 00:47:15,354
Fedya trains his men.
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00:47:21,839 --> 00:47:24,842
CHERNOV [voice-over]: He shouts
at them and swears heavily.
240
00:47:26,582 --> 00:47:29,020
He knows that
some of them will die.
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00:47:50,041 --> 00:47:51,607
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
When Russia invaded Ukraine,
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00:47:51,781 --> 00:47:55,698
each one of us
had to make a choice.
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00:47:55,873 --> 00:47:59,398
I took a camera
and started filming.
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00:47:59,572 --> 00:48:02,488
Fedya took a gun.
245
00:48:02,662 --> 00:48:05,665
He was sure
Ukraine will win this war.
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00:48:07,797 --> 00:48:09,843
♪ ♪
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00:48:33,301 --> 00:48:34,999
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Fedya told us,
248
00:48:35,173 --> 00:48:38,437
after the brigade liberated
two-thirds of the forest,
249
00:48:38,611 --> 00:48:41,744
it was his battalion's turn
to push forward,
250
00:48:41,919 --> 00:48:44,704
the first assault operation
for many of his men.
251
00:49:41,891 --> 00:49:44,155
[officers conversing]
252
00:49:55,383 --> 00:49:56,297
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
In headquarters,
253
00:49:56,471 --> 00:49:58,299
Duda and other officers
254
00:49:58,430 --> 00:50:01,259
guided Fedya and his team
through the battlefield.
255
00:50:28,286 --> 00:50:30,331
[soldiers talking]
256
00:50:52,571 --> 00:50:54,573
[gunshots firing]
257
00:52:11,998 --> 00:52:13,913
[gunshots firing]
258
00:52:35,195 --> 00:52:36,849
[gunshots firing]
259
00:53:22,677 --> 00:53:24,636
[rapid gunfire intensifies]
260
00:53:43,045 --> 00:53:46,223
[men at headquarters
exclaiming]
261
00:54:18,733 --> 00:54:21,127
[guns firing]
262
00:54:44,672 --> 00:54:45,760
[chuckling]
263
00:54:54,421 --> 00:54:56,380
[bomb whistling through air]
264
00:54:58,817 --> 00:55:00,993
[rapid gunfire]
265
00:55:56,831 --> 00:55:59,181
♪
266
00:56:26,774 --> 00:56:30,038
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Another 300 meters were taken.
267
00:56:30,212 --> 00:56:32,084
But the further they advanced,
268
00:56:32,258 --> 00:56:35,217
the harder it was
to keep pushing.
269
00:56:35,348 --> 00:56:37,916
Medics could not believe
all these casualties
270
00:56:38,090 --> 00:56:39,918
were coming
from that tiny forest.
271
00:56:45,053 --> 00:56:47,142
CHERNOV [voice-over]: If they
continued losing so many men,
272
00:56:47,316 --> 00:56:50,537
they would not be able
to finish the offensive.
273
00:56:50,711 --> 00:56:52,583
REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
U.S. officials say
274
00:56:52,757 --> 00:56:54,280
Ukraine's much anticipated
offensive
275
00:56:54,454 --> 00:56:56,325
is slowly moving forward.
276
00:56:56,500 --> 00:56:58,371
REPORTER 2 [voice-over]:
Progress is modest but steady,
277
00:56:58,545 --> 00:56:59,894
according to
the Ukrainian forces,
278
00:57:00,025 --> 00:57:02,723
as they reclaim
villages and trenches
279
00:57:02,897 --> 00:57:05,900
dug by Russian forces.
280
00:57:06,031 --> 00:57:08,076
Ukraine says it has
liberated several villages
281
00:57:08,250 --> 00:57:09,643
from the Russians
in recent days.
282
00:57:09,817 --> 00:57:11,428
REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
Villagers emerged from
283
00:57:11,602 --> 00:57:13,430
the basements, the bunkers
they'd been hiding in,
284
00:57:13,604 --> 00:57:15,997
and were overjoyed to see
Ukrainian troops there,
285
00:57:16,171 --> 00:57:17,738
to see the blue and yellow
Ukrainian flag
286
00:57:17,912 --> 00:57:19,436
flying over their village
once again.
287
00:57:23,352 --> 00:57:25,572
Over in the northeast,
288
00:57:25,746 --> 00:57:27,574
that cauldron of violence,
Bakhmut,
289
00:57:27,748 --> 00:57:30,664
has also been the scene
of some Ukrainian gains
290
00:57:30,838 --> 00:57:32,623
of a few kilometers
in recent days.
291
00:57:34,494 --> 00:57:35,626
REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Ukraine also taking
292
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:37,497
high casualties.
293
00:57:37,671 --> 00:57:39,194
REPORTER 5 [voice-over]:
Ukraine is a relative David
294
00:57:39,368 --> 00:57:40,326
to Russia's Goliath.
295
00:57:40,500 --> 00:57:41,936
They can't afford to lose
296
00:57:42,067 --> 00:57:44,156
three times the soldiers
that Russia does,
297
00:57:44,330 --> 00:57:45,723
so it has to proceed carefully.
298
00:57:45,897 --> 00:57:47,551
If that isn't good enough,
299
00:57:47,725 --> 00:57:49,770
and actually they still end up
in a stalemate,
300
00:57:49,944 --> 00:57:51,816
Western confidence
is likely to dip.
301
00:57:51,990 --> 00:57:54,209
REPORTER 6 [voice-over]: If
we're not getting results here,
302
00:57:54,383 --> 00:57:56,124
then perhaps Ukraine wants
to think about another plan,
303
00:57:56,298 --> 00:57:59,780
even some land concessions
for peace.
304
00:57:59,911 --> 00:58:01,521
REPORTER 7 [voice-over]:
If Ukraine falls,
305
00:58:01,695 --> 00:58:03,828
then Russian forces will be
on Europe's doorstep.
306
00:58:04,002 --> 00:58:05,307
It becomes NATO's war.
307
00:58:05,482 --> 00:58:07,484
[soldiers chattering]
308
00:58:13,098 --> 00:58:16,101
[soldier shouting in pain]
309
00:58:17,406 --> 00:58:19,365
[shouting continues]
310
00:58:22,324 --> 00:58:24,588
♪
311
00:58:30,289 --> 00:58:32,204
[man panting]
312
00:58:35,555 --> 00:58:36,643
[weapon firing]
313
00:58:40,212 --> 00:58:42,040
[distant explosion echoes]
314
00:58:58,012 --> 00:58:59,971
[radio chatter]
315
00:59:10,547 --> 00:59:12,984
[man panting]
316
00:59:33,178 --> 00:59:36,050
[panting continues]
317
00:59:55,853 --> 00:59:57,071
[distant explosion echoes]
318
00:59:59,900 --> 01:00:01,728
[explosion booms]
319
01:00:01,902 --> 01:00:03,469
[rapid gunfire in distance]
320
01:00:07,821 --> 01:00:10,258
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
1:30 p.m.
321
01:00:10,389 --> 01:00:13,958
We stop again to wait for
the artillery duel to finish.
322
01:00:15,220 --> 01:00:17,091
The day seems endless.
323
01:00:18,919 --> 01:00:20,791
[distant explosions echo]
324
01:00:25,534 --> 01:00:29,103
After his injury,
Fedya was sent to the hospital.
325
01:00:29,277 --> 01:00:31,976
He quickly recovered
and returned to the forest.
326
01:02:21,781 --> 01:02:23,740
[talking over radio]
327
01:04:29,474 --> 01:04:31,476
[radio chatter]
328
01:04:51,104 --> 01:04:52,366
[explosion booms]
329
01:05:42,155 --> 01:05:44,244
[distant rumbling]
330
01:05:48,335 --> 01:05:50,294
[rolling paper crinkling]
331
01:06:05,657 --> 01:06:08,399
[mortar whistling closer]
332
01:06:19,497 --> 01:06:20,498
[Sheva exhales]
333
01:07:45,757 --> 01:07:47,411
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Sheva is 46.
334
01:07:49,108 --> 01:07:52,285
At the beginning of
the counteroffensive,
335
01:07:52,459 --> 01:07:54,635
he left a comfortable position
in the military police
336
01:07:54,809 --> 01:07:58,770
to volunteer with
the 3rd Assault Brigade.
337
01:07:58,944 --> 01:08:01,903
He will be injured in a battle
five months from now
338
01:08:02,034 --> 01:08:04,254
and will die in a hospital.
339
01:08:46,078 --> 01:08:47,123
[distant boom echoes]
340
01:08:58,438 --> 01:09:00,484
♪
341
01:09:16,848 --> 01:09:18,458
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
For the next battle,
342
01:09:18,589 --> 01:09:21,287
Fedya's friend and
second in command, Gagarin,
343
01:09:21,461 --> 01:09:23,159
replaced him in the forest.
344
01:09:50,098 --> 01:09:51,839
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He was 24.
345
01:09:52,013 --> 01:09:55,278
Hometown:
Polonne, Western Ukraine.
346
01:09:55,452 --> 01:09:58,411
He worked as a truck driver
in Europe.
347
01:09:58,585 --> 01:10:00,457
When the full-scale
invasion started,
348
01:10:00,631 --> 01:10:02,981
he returned and volunteered.
349
01:10:03,155 --> 01:10:04,852
He led the platoon to battle.
350
01:10:05,026 --> 01:10:08,465
They had to move
another 300 meters
351
01:10:08,639 --> 01:10:10,858
and reach the end
of the forest.
352
01:10:11,032 --> 01:10:13,992
After that, it was Andriivka.
353
01:10:14,166 --> 01:10:16,037
[soldiers shouting]
354
01:10:19,824 --> 01:10:21,478
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
His friend Kobzar
355
01:10:21,608 --> 01:10:23,393
followed him
on the battlefield.
356
01:10:33,881 --> 01:10:35,013
[guns firing]
357
01:12:31,608 --> 01:12:32,652
[empty gun clicking]
358
01:13:26,053 --> 01:13:27,925
[rapid gunfire exchange]
359
01:14:31,945 --> 01:14:33,947
♪
360
01:14:55,534 --> 01:14:57,449
[woman vocalizing]
361
01:15:07,981 --> 01:15:09,679
♪
362
01:15:21,952 --> 01:15:23,823
[woman vocalizing]
363
01:15:25,738 --> 01:15:27,392
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Gagarin was laid to rest
364
01:15:27,566 --> 01:15:30,003
in his hometown, Polonne,
365
01:15:30,177 --> 01:15:34,051
972 kilometers from Andriivka.
366
01:15:34,181 --> 01:15:37,184
And the entire neighborhood
came to his funeral
367
01:15:37,358 --> 01:15:40,405
to be with his mother
as she cried.
368
01:15:44,104 --> 01:15:47,499
They said it was
the 56th funeral here.
369
01:15:56,726 --> 01:15:58,641
♪
370
01:16:06,518 --> 01:16:08,520
[people conversing]
371
01:16:46,558 --> 01:16:48,386
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Kobzar, the soldier
372
01:16:48,560 --> 01:16:52,085
who held Gagarin's hand
as he was dying in the forest,
373
01:16:52,259 --> 01:16:55,132
will be killed
five months from now
374
01:16:55,306 --> 01:16:58,570
by a drone strike in a battle
for another village.
375
01:17:11,452 --> 01:17:13,498
♪
376
01:17:59,675 --> 01:18:01,677
♪
377
01:18:08,422 --> 01:18:09,641
REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
Western officials have
378
01:18:09,815 --> 01:18:10,947
expressed disappointment in
379
01:18:11,121 --> 01:18:12,731
a much vaunted
counteroffensive,
380
01:18:12,905 --> 01:18:14,820
which began in June.
381
01:18:14,994 --> 01:18:16,735
Ukraine has only taken back
382
01:18:16,866 --> 01:18:20,957
an estimated 100 square miles
of territory since then.
383
01:18:21,087 --> 01:18:23,002
REPORTER 2 [voice-over]: Well,
U.S. intelligence is now saying
384
01:18:23,176 --> 01:18:24,482
that Ukraine will fail to meet
385
01:18:24,612 --> 01:18:26,919
their counteroffensive
key goals.
386
01:18:27,093 --> 01:18:29,574
REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
How sustainable is this level
387
01:18:29,748 --> 01:18:32,708
of support when there's really
no end in sight to the war?
388
01:18:34,405 --> 01:18:36,450
REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Russia has millions more men
389
01:18:36,624 --> 01:18:38,452
from whom to draw.
390
01:18:38,626 --> 01:18:40,716
There's no path
to a military victory here,
391
01:18:40,890 --> 01:18:42,718
only more death.
392
01:18:48,114 --> 01:18:50,073
♪ ♪
393
01:19:21,844 --> 01:19:23,759
♪ ♪
394
01:19:28,024 --> 01:19:29,895
[woman vocalizing]
395
01:19:50,873 --> 01:19:52,875
[woman vocalizing]
396
01:20:11,023 --> 01:20:12,938
[woman vocalizing]
397
01:20:45,014 --> 01:20:47,016
♪
398
01:20:50,410 --> 01:20:52,369
[woman vocalizing]
399
01:21:13,956 --> 01:21:15,871
[woman vocalizing]
400
01:21:31,799 --> 01:21:34,628
CHERNOV [voice-over]: The
counteroffensive was failing.
401
01:21:34,802 --> 01:21:38,763
Few believed Ukraine
could advance any further.
402
01:21:38,894 --> 01:21:42,201
But the brigade decided
to make its last stand.
403
01:21:43,550 --> 01:21:45,726
As Gagarin was laid to rest,
404
01:21:45,901 --> 01:21:48,904
the final battle
for Andriivka began.
405
01:21:49,078 --> 01:21:51,080
♪
406
01:21:56,999 --> 01:21:58,435
[soldier breathing heavily]
407
01:22:09,054 --> 01:22:10,534
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
All the battalions
408
01:22:10,708 --> 01:22:13,276
gathered their forces.
409
01:22:13,450 --> 01:22:16,279
First, they took positions
on the edge of the forest
410
01:22:16,453 --> 01:22:19,282
and in houses on the outskirts.
411
01:22:19,412 --> 01:22:21,762
Then, under the cover
of the smoke screen bombs,
412
01:22:21,937 --> 01:22:23,199
they moved in.
413
01:22:35,602 --> 01:22:37,082
[men talking on radio]
414
01:22:39,302 --> 01:22:40,825
[explosion detonates]
415
01:23:04,022 --> 01:23:05,850
[gunshots firing]
416
01:23:10,420 --> 01:23:12,509
[distant explosion echoes]
417
01:23:19,298 --> 01:23:21,083
[man talking over radio]
418
01:23:38,622 --> 01:23:40,624
[gunshots firing]
419
01:24:04,517 --> 01:24:05,736
[explosion booms]
420
01:24:07,781 --> 01:24:09,174
[soldier shouting]
421
01:24:20,055 --> 01:24:22,057
[man shouting]
422
01:24:24,537 --> 01:24:26,409
[rapid gunfire in distance]
423
01:24:57,222 --> 01:24:59,268
[explosions roar in distance]
424
01:26:02,809 --> 01:26:05,682
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]
425
01:26:08,902 --> 01:26:11,296
[soldiers talking]
426
01:27:02,173 --> 01:27:04,654
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]
427
01:27:07,047 --> 01:27:09,093
♪
428
01:27:30,984 --> 01:27:33,073
♪ ♪
429
01:27:38,818 --> 01:27:40,385
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
2:00 p.m.
430
01:27:40,559 --> 01:27:42,518
We are a hundred meters
from Andriivka.
431
01:27:50,395 --> 01:27:52,528
CHERNOV [voice-over]: Fedya
instructs us to start moving.
432
01:28:20,947 --> 01:28:23,472
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
We are finally in Andriivka.
433
01:28:25,082 --> 01:28:26,605
As Russians retreated,
434
01:28:26,736 --> 01:28:30,348
their artillery
shot indiscriminately.
435
01:28:30,522 --> 01:28:33,395
They were erasing
the village from the map.
436
01:28:38,878 --> 01:28:40,619
In the last 100 meters,
437
01:28:40,793 --> 01:28:43,622
there are bodies
scattered everywhere.
438
01:28:43,796 --> 01:28:45,363
Mostly Russians.
439
01:28:45,537 --> 01:28:47,583
A few Ukrainians.
440
01:28:52,327 --> 01:28:54,938
As we walk in,
Fedya receives a message
441
01:28:55,112 --> 01:28:58,681
that one of the soldiers in
his platoon has been injured.
442
01:29:39,417 --> 01:29:42,028
[explosions boom]
443
01:29:54,258 --> 01:29:56,260
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He's severely shell-shocked.
444
01:30:04,181 --> 01:30:07,314
CHERNOV [voice-over]: We run
to the ruins of another house.
445
01:30:07,445 --> 01:30:09,839
This one at least
has a basement.
446
01:30:13,103 --> 01:30:14,931
[objects clattering]
447
01:30:57,974 --> 01:30:59,105
[explosion booms]
448
01:30:59,279 --> 01:31:01,107
[rock crumbling]
449
01:31:35,490 --> 01:31:36,578
[laughs]
450
01:31:37,927 --> 01:31:38,928
[explosion booms nearby]
451
01:31:46,326 --> 01:31:47,502
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
We settle in the basement,
452
01:31:47,676 --> 01:31:49,373
and artillery keeps hitting us.
453
01:31:51,418 --> 01:31:54,944
It's only now
the understanding comes to me.
454
01:31:55,118 --> 01:31:57,990
We really are in Andriivka.
455
01:31:58,121 --> 01:32:01,690
But the village
doesn't exist anymore.
456
01:32:01,820 --> 01:32:03,387
Among the ruins,
457
01:32:03,561 --> 01:32:05,868
there is hardly a place
to raise the flag.
458
01:32:08,087 --> 01:32:11,264
The villagers are dead or gone.
459
01:32:11,438 --> 01:32:14,093
Everything is destroyed.
460
01:32:14,267 --> 01:32:17,836
People, animals, memories.
461
01:32:18,010 --> 01:32:20,665
And all that is left of it
is a name.
462
01:32:20,796 --> 01:32:22,798
♪ ♪
463
01:32:50,347 --> 01:32:52,001
[man speaking on radio]
464
01:32:54,656 --> 01:32:58,094
-[explosion booms]
-[debris rains on basement]
465
01:33:10,846 --> 01:33:11,847
[nearby explosion booms]
466
01:33:23,685 --> 01:33:24,903
[distant gunfire echoes]
467
01:33:47,360 --> 01:33:49,275
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
I don't argue,
468
01:33:49,406 --> 01:33:52,496
but I doubt it will happen.
469
01:33:52,670 --> 01:33:54,672
I know Ukraine doesn't have
enough resources
470
01:33:54,803 --> 01:33:58,328
to continue
the counteroffensive.
471
01:33:58,502 --> 01:34:01,374
I know the Russians will
continue to reduce cities
472
01:34:01,548 --> 01:34:04,769
to a state where
there aren't even bricks left.
473
01:34:04,943 --> 01:34:08,555
And the longer it all goes on,
474
01:34:08,730 --> 01:34:10,993
the less the world
will care about it.
475
01:34:12,821 --> 01:34:15,606
I'm afraid this land
will remain frozen frontline
476
01:34:15,737 --> 01:34:17,303
for years.
477
01:34:25,485 --> 01:34:27,531
[Fedya speaking faintly]
478
01:35:12,184 --> 01:35:13,795
[explosion booms]
479
01:35:15,318 --> 01:35:17,146
[men chatting quietly]
480
01:35:36,121 --> 01:35:37,819
[explosion booms]
481
01:35:58,361 --> 01:35:59,928
[cat meows]
482
01:36:05,063 --> 01:36:07,109
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]
483
01:37:09,258 --> 01:37:11,651
[soldier coughing]
484
01:37:54,956 --> 01:37:56,871
♪ ♪
485
01:38:00,570 --> 01:38:01,876
[cat meows]
486
01:38:14,889 --> 01:38:16,064
[radio beeps]
487
01:38:36,823 --> 01:38:38,913
♪ ♪
488
01:39:00,412 --> 01:39:01,413
[radio beeps]
489
01:39:01,587 --> 01:39:03,807
[Fedya speaking]
490
01:39:06,505 --> 01:39:08,551
[distant explosions echo]
491
01:39:55,946 --> 01:39:57,339
[cat meows]
492
01:40:02,170 --> 01:40:04,172
♪
493
01:40:41,948 --> 01:40:44,038
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
8:00 p.m.
494
01:40:44,212 --> 01:40:45,865
When we were sitting
in the basement,
495
01:40:45,996 --> 01:40:48,259
Fedya told me,
496
01:40:48,433 --> 01:40:51,480
in his dreams, he fights
like hell in this forest.
497
01:40:53,003 --> 01:40:56,050
Then he wakes up
and goes back to the battle.
498
01:40:59,836 --> 01:41:03,579
And I thought,
this war is a nightmare
499
01:41:03,709 --> 01:41:05,668
none of us can wake up from.
500
01:41:10,064 --> 01:41:14,503
I envy Fedya because
he believes we will.
501
01:41:14,677 --> 01:41:18,376
He has the names of his friends
and the cities he has lost
502
01:41:18,550 --> 01:41:22,250
and a gun and a flag
to avenge them.
503
01:41:37,395 --> 01:41:38,788
[cat meows]
504
01:41:47,101 --> 01:41:48,406
[exhales]
505
01:42:57,432 --> 01:42:59,434
♪ ♪
506
01:43:16,015 --> 01:43:17,539
[sniffs]
507
01:43:28,463 --> 01:43:30,856
[woman vocalizing]
508
01:43:31,030 --> 01:43:32,989
[muffled rifle salute]
509
01:45:15,134 --> 01:45:17,093
♪
510
01:45:38,070 --> 01:45:40,159
♪ ♪
511
01:45:54,565 --> 01:45:56,480
[woman vocalizing]
512
01:46:22,027 --> 01:46:24,029
♪
513
01:46:44,049 --> 01:46:46,051
♪
514
01:47:06,594 --> 01:47:08,596
♪
515
01:47:27,832 --> 01:47:29,791
♪ ♪
516
01:47:45,937 --> 01:47:47,939
[music fades]
36085
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