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(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)

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<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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SEAN LANGAN:
I'm now on the front lines.

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The sounds here
are so much more terrifying

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The sounds here
than the sounds I heard in Donetsk.

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than the sounds I heard in Donetsk.

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<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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I was warned
not to go in with the Russians.

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And some people asked,

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"Should we even be telling
their side of the story?"

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But, when I found myself riding
into battle with the Russian army,

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I began to think I might have gone
too far over to the other side.

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But, at that point,
it was too late to turn back.

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<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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I arrived in Russia a few weeks
after Putin ordered a mobilisation.

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The war had been going badly
since the invasion...

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..and, according to the headlines,
Ukraine seemed to be winning

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..and, according to the headlines,
and could even win this war.

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and could even win this war.

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I'd read all the reports
on war crimes.

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But as I drove down
from Moscow

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I didn't really know
what to expect.

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The Russian-occupied territory

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in the east of Ukraine,

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known as the Donbas Region,

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known as the Donbas Region,
an effective media blackout,

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had been under
an effective media blackout,

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and it felt like I was crossing over
an effective media blackout,

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and it felt like I was crossing over

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into the dark side of the moon.

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into the dark side of the moon.
My name is Sean Langan.

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My name is Sean Langan.

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As a young foreign correspondent

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I'd covered
the break-up of the Soviet Union.

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I'd covered
That was more than 30 years ago,

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That was more than 30 years ago,

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and this was my first time
back in Russia.

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I'd finally been granted a press visa

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by the Foreign Affairs Ministry
in Moscow.

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And I'd hired
a local fixer from Donetsk

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And I'd hired
in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

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in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

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Sasha was my translator
and my eyes and ears.

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I've noticed you've put the Z
on the window. Now, why is that?

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These are local...

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These are local...
Oh, my God. These are Chechnyans.

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Oh, my God. These are Chechnyans.

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Do I have to be careful?

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<font color="#ffff00">Ah, no, they're friends of mine.</font>
Do I have to be careful?

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<font color="#ffff00">Ah, no, they're friends of mine.</font>
Really?

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<font color="#00ff00">(INDISTINCT CHATTER)</font>

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The closer we come to Donetsk

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the more this feels like a war zone.

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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On my first night in Donetsk

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the constant barrage of outgoing
artillery fire and rockets

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sounded like rolling thunder
on the horizon.

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE)</font>
on the horizon.

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE)</font>

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That night Russia unleashed
cruise missiles across Ukraine,

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cutting off the power supply
to over 1.5 million people.

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cutting off the power supply
to over 1.5 million people.
It was the beginning
of Putin's campaign

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It was the beginning
of Putin's campaign

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to rain down rockets on Kyiv
and other cities in Ukraine.
of Putin's campaign

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to rain down rockets on Kyiv
and other cities in Ukraine.

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Sasha had arranged an embed
with local forces.

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Formerly part of the breakaway
Donetsk Peoples' Republic,

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they've been fighting since 2014

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but are now
a part of the Russian army.

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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Thousands of soldiers
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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Thousands of soldiers
are billeted in the little dachas

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Thousands of soldiers
on the outskirts of Donetsk.

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on the outskirts of Donetsk.

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<font color="#00ffff">(CHATTER IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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As we arrived at the dacha

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the men were getting ready
to go out on a mission.

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So, he was
in the independent Ukrainian navy?

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He is now fighting what's called
the Ukrainian army?

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He is now fighting what's called
Can he help me understand that?

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Can he help me understand that?

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But there is a darker side to
the pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine.

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The Wagner Group was originally
set up to pursue Putin's proxy war

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in support of the separatists
in 2014.

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Some of these men
joined the Wagner Group

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and were still with them
at the time of invasion.

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Yeah, but what where they doing
in Kyiv if they're...

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Yeah, but what where they doing
I didn't know the DNR were there.

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I didn't know the DNR were there.

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Ah.

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<font color="#00ffff">Da.</font>

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And he was with...
not the Donetsk People's Army,

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And he was with...
with the Wagner Group?

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with the Wagner Group?

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We heard a lot about Bucha, that...

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..it was on the news every day,

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about how when the Russians left

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there were all these bodies,
and they were accused...

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..they were accused
of war crimes there.

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The UN documented at least 73 cases

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of unlawful killings and executions
of civilians in Bucha.

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But I realised it wasn't
the right time or a safe place

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to ask about war crimes.

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The men were now heading out
to the tranches,

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which were less
than two kilometres away,

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which were less
and they agreed to take me.

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and they agreed to take me.

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<font color="#00ff00">(MUD SPLOSHES)</font>

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(BREATHES HEAVILY)

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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(BREATHES HEAVILY)

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<font color="#ffff00">Throwing grenades.</font>

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No! In this trench?

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">Rossia?</font>
Outgoing?
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">Rossia?</font>
Outgoing?

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Ah.

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<font color="#00ffff">(LAUGHTER, CHATTER)</font>

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ff00">(SHELLS WHIZZ IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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(QUIETLY) Fuck!

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(BREATHES HEAVILY)

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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(QUIETLY) No.

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<font color="#00ffff">(DRONE BUZZES)</font>

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SHELLS WHIZZ IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SHELLS WHIZZ IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SHELLS WHIZZ IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SHELL WHIZZES NEARBY)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

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I'd met the local fighters
in Donetsk,

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I'd met the local fighters
but I now wanted to leave the city

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but I now wanted to leave the city

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and meet the Russian army
fighting on the eastern front.

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In the weeks before I arrived
in Donetsk,

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the Ukrainian army had launched
a lightning counter-offensive

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in the east
and around the city of Kharkiv.

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<font color="#00ff00">(RUSSIAN POP SONG PLAYS ON RADIO)</font>

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The Russian army had been routed

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in Izyum and Lyman,

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and was apparently in disarray

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and they had fallen back

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to the garrison town of Svatove.

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<font color="#00ff00">NEWSREADER: Lyman's capture is one</font>
<font color="#00ff00">of Russia's worst military defeats</font>

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<font color="#00ff00">NEWSREADER: Lyman's capture is one</font>
<font color="#00ff00">since the start of its invasion...</font>

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<font color="#00ff00">since the start of its invasion...</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">NEWSREADER: Military vehicles -</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">these are signs</font>
<font color="#00ffff">that the Russians had to flee.</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">See the mines there.</font>
Oh, yeah.

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Are those their mine?
These are their mines?

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This was my first encounter
with a Russian unit

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and my first encounter
with a Russian tank.

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Neither seemed
to be in good working order.

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But they had been fighting
for six months

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But they had been fighting
for six months
and taken a battering
in their retreat from Izyum.

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and taken a battering
in their retreat from Izyum.

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And, as they stood around
smoking cigarettes,

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And, as they stood around
the Ukrainians started shelling.

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the Ukrainians started shelling.

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<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">We should run now, we should go</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">because they're aiming us,</font>
<font color="#ffff00">they're aiming us.</font>

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<font color="#ffff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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When we got to Svatove

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it was full of cold
and exhausted-looking soldiers

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it was full of cold
milling around in muddy streets

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milling around in muddy streets

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strewn with broken-down vehicles.

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Can I ask what is it like here?

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For you?

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<font color="#00ffff">I don't like here...be here</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">because...</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">..this is danger can come.</font>

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Yeah. How old are you?

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<font color="#00ffff">19.</font>

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Oh, you're my son's age.
<font color="#00ffff">(CHUCKLES)</font>

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What's your name?
<font color="#00ffff">Ilhom.</font>

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00:14:38,660 --> 00:14:41,380
<font color="#00ffff">Ilhom.</font>
Ilhom. My name is Sean.

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00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:44,220
<font color="#00ffff">Nice to m...</font>
Are you mobilised?

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<font color="#00ffff">No, no, no. I am contract.</font>

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Contract.

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<font color="#00ffff">I be in Balakliia and Izyum.</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">And I now be here in Svatove.</font>

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00:14:58,060 --> 00:14:58,300
Can I ask what was it like for you
<font color="#00ffff">And I now be here in Svatove.</font>

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Can I ask what was it like for you
in Izyum?

192
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Can I ask what was it like for you
Because it was tough fighting.

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Because it was tough fighting.

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<font color="#00ffff">We lost so many good...</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>
<font color="#00ffff">We lost so many good...</font>

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<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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00:15:09,500 --> 00:15:09,740
<font color="#00ffff">Good men.</font>
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

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00:15:09,740 --> 00:15:11,300
<font color="#00ffff">Good men.</font>
Yeah.

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You lost friends?

200
00:15:24,420 --> 00:15:25,700
<font color="#00ffff">Yeah.</font>

201
00:15:26,660 --> 00:15:27,740
I'm sorry.

202
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I'd been warned that I would
never be allowed to show the truth

203
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if I went
to Russian-occupied Ukraine.

204
00:15:38,020 --> 00:15:42,540
Both Sasha and the commander
were trying to manage my visit.

205
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But the cracks
were beginning to show.

206
00:17:14,980 --> 00:17:18,540
The reporter from Russian TV
thanked him for sharing.

207
00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:23,340
But the soldier's outspoken comments
were later cut from her report.

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00:17:24,340 --> 00:17:28,940
<font color="#00ff00">(RUSSIAN RAP SONG PLAYS ON RADIO)</font>

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00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:09,860
Afterwards we stopped off

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to pick up a couple of what they said
were NATO-made missiles.

211
00:18:13,940 --> 00:18:17,060
The driver was keen
to take us back to their place

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00:18:17,060 --> 00:18:20,180
to show off
their stock of captured weapons.

213
00:18:20,180 --> 00:18:22,220
So, we're gonna go in first
or talk here?

214
00:18:22,220 --> 00:18:22,460
So, we're gonna go in first
I'll turn my camera off.

215
00:18:22,460 --> 00:18:24,220
I'll turn my camera off.

216
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So, these are all
weapons...NATO weapons

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that they took from the Ukrainians?

218
00:18:44,060 --> 00:18:46,500
And what's he going to do with them?

219
00:19:00,340 --> 00:19:02,100
As we were talking

220
00:19:02,100 --> 00:19:03,820
some men stormed in.

221
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They were Spetsnaz,
the Russian elite special forces.

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00:19:23,500 --> 00:19:25,700
I can feel he's looking at me

223
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like, "Who the F are you?"

224
00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:29,580
And he's right -
never trust journalists,

225
00:19:29,580 --> 00:19:29,860
but I want...
<font color="#ffff00">(LAUGHS)</font>
And he's right -
never trust journalists,

226
00:19:29,860 --> 00:19:31,500
but I want...
<font color="#ffff00">(LAUGHS)</font>

227
00:19:35,140 --> 00:19:37,940
<font color="#00ff00">(LAUGHTER)</font>

228
00:19:40,700 --> 00:19:44,940
<font color="#00ff00">(LAUGHTER)</font>

229
00:19:44,940 --> 00:19:47,660
The Ukrainians are saying
they're winning,

230
00:19:47,660 --> 00:19:47,900
The Ukrainians are saying
and they took Izyum, Lyman.

231
00:19:47,900 --> 00:19:51,260
and they took Izyum, Lyman.

232
00:21:08,900 --> 00:21:10,420
Thank you very much.

233
00:21:13,140 --> 00:21:14,260
<font color="#00ff00">(YELLS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

234
00:21:23,660 --> 00:21:26,700
<font color="#00ffff">(RUSSIAN POP SONG PLAYS ON RADIO)</font>

235
00:21:27,980 --> 00:21:29,780
On our way back to Donetsk

236
00:21:29,780 --> 00:21:33,580
we stopped off at
a forward-operating base in Kreminna.

237
00:21:36,060 --> 00:21:39,660
Sasha had arranged for us
to meet a unit of Russian soldiers

238
00:21:39,660 --> 00:21:41,900
camped out in the woods

239
00:21:47,020 --> 00:21:49,220
Is the fighting here quite intense?

240
00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:16,780
Is there a little bit of hurt

241
00:22:16,780 --> 00:22:17,020
that the West
Is there a little bit of hurt

242
00:22:17,020 --> 00:22:19,820
that the West
doesn't understand their side?

243
00:22:52,260 --> 00:22:55,300
<font color="#00ff00">(CHATTER IN RUSSIAN)</font>

244
00:24:02,340 --> 00:24:04,100
Ah. Made in England?
<font color="#00ffff">(CHUCKLES) Yeah.</font>

245
00:24:16,620 --> 00:24:20,660
What's it like? Because Russian
and Ukraine are...they're neighbours,

246
00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:23,540
they're family, its history.
Does that make it harder?

247
00:24:33,500 --> 00:24:35,300
Does he have children?

248
00:24:43,940 --> 00:24:45,860
<font color="#00ff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

249
00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:15,500
When I first arrived in Donetsk

250
00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:17,980
it felt like a city
on the front line.

251
00:25:22,060 --> 00:25:24,980
Now it felt like a city under siege.

252
00:25:26,220 --> 00:25:30,700
<font color="#00ff00">(PHONE RINGS)</font>

253
00:25:30,700 --> 00:25:32,180
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

254
00:25:32,180 --> 00:25:35,980
<font color="#00ff00">(RINGING CONTINUES)</font>

255
00:25:35,980 --> 00:25:38,460
His phone's ringing.
Someone's trying to call him.

256
00:25:38,460 --> 00:25:39,460
(PUFFS)

257
00:25:39,460 --> 00:25:44,140
<font color="#00ff00">(RINGING CONTINUES)</font>

258
00:25:48,100 --> 00:25:51,260
A well-known pro-Kremlin
Russian military blogger

259
00:25:51,260 --> 00:25:54,540
agreed to take us
to the very edge of the city

260
00:25:54,540 --> 00:25:57,660
so we could see
the Ukrainian front lines.

261
00:25:57,660 --> 00:25:57,900
so we could see
<font color="#00ff00">(RUSSIAN POP SONG PLAYS ON RADIO)</font>

262
00:25:57,900 --> 00:26:00,140
<font color="#00ff00">(RUSSIAN POP SONG PLAYS ON RADIO)</font>

263
00:26:15,420 --> 00:26:17,340
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

264
00:26:32,980 --> 00:26:38,500
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS NEARBY)</font>

265
00:26:43,900 --> 00:26:45,620
<font color="#00ffff">Don't afraid. It's ours.</font>
Yeah.

266
00:26:45,620 --> 00:26:45,860
<font color="#00ffff">Don't afraid. It's ours.</font>
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

267
00:26:45,860 --> 00:26:46,820
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

268
00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:49,780
What would you accept as compromise?

269
00:27:31,900 --> 00:27:37,660
You said something there
which I find disturbing.

270
00:27:37,660 --> 00:27:41,940
IF Kyiv is friendly to you,
then you will give them freedom.

271
00:27:46,580 --> 00:27:48,980
<font color="#00ffff">And... And...</font>
And, sorry, does that include Kyiv?

272
00:27:48,980 --> 00:27:49,220
<font color="#00ffff">And... And...</font>
And, sorry, does that include Kyiv?
<font color="#00ffff">And when we kill the last Nazi...</font>

273
00:27:49,220 --> 00:27:52,020
<font color="#00ffff">And when we kill the last Nazi...</font>

274
00:27:52,020 --> 00:27:53,220
Yeah.

275
00:27:53,220 --> 00:27:54,700
<font color="#00ffff">..war will end.</font>

276
00:27:57,780 --> 00:28:00,300
It's like a ghost town around here,
this bit.

277
00:28:00,300 --> 00:28:00,540
<font color="#ffff00">This is a protected place.</font>
this bit.

278
00:28:00,540 --> 00:28:01,940
<font color="#ffff00">This is a protected place.</font>

279
00:28:01,940 --> 00:28:03,620
OK.

280
00:28:04,820 --> 00:28:08,300
Also I've got a feeling we should be
wearing a flak jacket now.

281
00:28:08,300 --> 00:28:08,540
Also I've got a feeling we should be
wearing a flak jacket now.
<font color="#ffff00">Yeah. You put it on.</font>

282
00:28:08,540 --> 00:28:10,260
<font color="#ffff00">Yeah. You put it on.</font>

283
00:28:10,260 --> 00:28:11,500
Yeah.

284
00:28:18,580 --> 00:28:20,980
We're putting our flak jackets on,

285
00:28:20,980 --> 00:28:24,380
there's a woman across the road
walking her dog.

286
00:28:24,380 --> 00:28:24,620
there's a woman across the road
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

287
00:28:24,620 --> 00:28:25,780
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

288
00:28:30,980 --> 00:28:33,460
Is she OK walking her dog, Sasha?

289
00:28:36,540 --> 00:28:44,540
<font color="#ffff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

290
00:28:52,100 --> 00:28:53,620
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELL WHIZZES OVERHEAD)</font>

291
00:28:56,580 --> 00:28:57,580
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

292
00:28:57,580 --> 00:28:57,820
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>
No, no, it's rockets, it's firing,
it's...

293
00:28:57,820 --> 00:29:00,180
No, no, it's rockets, it's firing,
it's...

294
00:29:00,180 --> 00:29:00,420
No, no, it's rockets, it's firing,
<font color="#ffff00">It's mortar.</font>

295
00:29:00,420 --> 00:29:02,060
<font color="#ffff00">It's mortar.</font>

296
00:29:02,060 --> 00:29:03,300
I saw the flames.

297
00:29:06,140 --> 00:29:09,300
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS NEARBY)</font>

298
00:29:09,300 --> 00:29:12,780
Sasha, I think we should come over.

299
00:29:14,620 --> 00:29:17,860
I could see
the flame coming from here.

300
00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:26,980
<font color="#00ff00">(CHATTER IN RUSSIAN)</font>

301
00:29:26,980 --> 00:29:29,180
Does she want to borrow our helmet?

302
00:29:29,180 --> 00:29:30,940
<font color="#ffff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

303
00:29:34,660 --> 00:29:36,460
I wasn't joking. Oh, my God.

304
00:29:36,460 --> 00:29:36,660
I wasn't joking. Oh, my God.
What's your name? My name is Sean.

305
00:29:36,660 --> 00:29:39,060
What's your name? My name is Sean.

306
00:29:40,900 --> 00:29:42,860
Does she feel safe here?

307
00:29:42,860 --> 00:29:43,060
Does she want...
Does she feel safe here?

308
00:29:43,060 --> 00:29:44,180
Does she want...

309
00:29:59,300 --> 00:30:01,940
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>
OK.

310
00:30:01,940 --> 00:30:02,180
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>
Is she going? Bye-bye.

311
00:30:02,180 --> 00:30:03,460
Is she going? Bye-bye.

312
00:30:03,460 --> 00:30:04,700
<font color="#00ffff">Do svidaniya.</font>

313
00:30:04,700 --> 00:30:06,020
Do svidaniya.

314
00:30:11,980 --> 00:30:13,700
(PUFFS) Sasha.

315
00:30:13,700 --> 00:30:15,940
<font color="#ffff00">It was closest you have, I guess,</font>
<font color="#ffff00">here, yeah?</font>

316
00:30:15,940 --> 00:30:16,180
<font color="#ffff00">It was closest you have, I guess,</font>
Yeah.

317
00:30:16,180 --> 00:30:16,980
Yeah.

318
00:30:17,940 --> 00:30:20,140
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

319
00:30:20,140 --> 00:30:22,500
You know what? I just want to say
this, I don't wanna get...

320
00:30:22,500 --> 00:30:24,540
We don't need to go looking
for the fucking war.

321
00:30:24,540 --> 00:30:24,780
We don't need to go looking
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELL WHIZZES OVERHEAD)</font>

322
00:30:24,780 --> 00:30:25,740
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELL WHIZZES OVERHEAD)</font>

323
00:30:25,740 --> 00:30:25,980
<font color="#ffff00">Yeah, yeah, you don't wanna go</font>
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELL WHIZZES OVERHEAD)</font>

324
00:30:25,980 --> 00:30:28,780
<font color="#ffff00">Yeah, yeah, you don't wanna go</font>
<font color="#ffff00">there. You agree with me now, yeah?</font>

325
00:30:28,780 --> 00:30:30,340
Yeah.
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

326
00:30:30,340 --> 00:30:33,220
<font color="#ffff00">This is a window shaking</font>
<font color="#ffff00">where it stands.</font>

327
00:30:34,180 --> 00:30:35,380
<font color="#ffff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

328
00:31:03,820 --> 00:31:05,220
Do you mind if I smoke?

329
00:31:05,220 --> 00:31:06,780
<font color="#00ffff">(EXCLAIMS)</font>

330
00:31:08,940 --> 00:31:11,260
Yeah, I'm English, British.

331
00:31:13,420 --> 00:31:15,300
<font color="#00ff00">(ALL LAUGH)</font>

332
00:31:17,780 --> 00:31:18,780
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

333
00:31:18,780 --> 00:31:19,020
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>
<font color="#ffff00">Where are you from?</font>
London.

334
00:31:19,020 --> 00:31:20,420
<font color="#ffff00">Where are you from?</font>
London.

335
00:31:43,740 --> 00:31:45,740
(CHORTLES)

336
00:31:46,700 --> 00:31:47,980
You mean...

337
00:31:53,540 --> 00:31:56,580
<font color="#00ffff">(CHATTERS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

338
00:32:05,780 --> 00:32:08,220
I'm gonna miss this place.

339
00:32:08,220 --> 00:32:10,420
<font color="#ffff00">I know you'll come back.</font>

340
00:32:10,420 --> 00:32:13,740
<font color="#ffff00">There is no more interesting place</font>
<font color="#ffff00">in the world.</font>

341
00:32:14,700 --> 00:32:16,900
I've got 12 days left

342
00:32:16,900 --> 00:32:19,380
and I'd rather not
go to the front lines

343
00:32:19,380 --> 00:32:21,540
but at the same time
I feel I have to.

344
00:32:21,540 --> 00:32:26,380
<font color="#ffff00">You spent a lot of time and spent</font>
<font color="#ffff00">a lot of energy, you risked a lot</font>

345
00:32:26,380 --> 00:32:28,300
<font color="#ffff00">to do this film,</font>

346
00:32:28,300 --> 00:32:32,820
<font color="#ffff00">so, I want it to be better</font>
<font color="#ffff00">so more people can watch it.</font>

347
00:32:32,820 --> 00:32:33,060
<font color="#ffff00">so, I want it to be better</font>
OK.

348
00:32:33,060 --> 00:32:33,820
OK.

349
00:32:33,820 --> 00:32:38,340
<font color="#ffff00">That's why I want to risk more and</font>
<font color="#ffff00">show you some of front-line stuff.</font>

350
00:32:38,340 --> 00:32:38,580
<font color="#ffff00">That's why I want to risk more and</font>
<font color="#ffff00">It will be interesting.</font>

351
00:32:38,580 --> 00:32:39,700
<font color="#ffff00">It will be interesting.</font>

352
00:32:41,060 --> 00:32:43,300
We were now finally heading
to an area

353
00:32:43,300 --> 00:32:46,900
that President Zelenskyy
described as 'hell on earth' -

354
00:32:46,900 --> 00:32:47,140
that President Zelenskyy
a fitting place for my journey's end.

355
00:32:47,140 --> 00:32:49,540
a fitting place for my journey's end.

356
00:32:54,980 --> 00:32:57,340
We arrived in the front-line village

357
00:32:57,340 --> 00:33:00,180
just as casualties were coming in.

358
00:33:00,180 --> 00:33:03,420
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS NEARBY)</font>

359
00:33:05,900 --> 00:33:07,580
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

360
00:33:14,420 --> 00:33:15,820
Are you the medic?

361
00:33:17,340 --> 00:33:18,380
Oh.

362
00:33:19,820 --> 00:33:21,420
Ah!
<font color="#00ffff">Yes.</font>

363
00:33:36,420 --> 00:33:38,100
This is where you live and work?

364
00:33:38,100 --> 00:33:39,500
<font color="#00ffff">Yes.</font>

365
00:33:42,220 --> 00:33:45,420
This is your operating theatre
and this is your kitchen.

366
00:33:57,980 --> 00:34:01,300
<font color="#ffff00">This is now operation</font>
<font color="#ffff00">of surrounding Avdiivka.</font>

367
00:34:01,300 --> 00:34:04,300
So, the Russians have finally made
somewhat of an advance?

368
00:34:04,300 --> 00:34:04,540
So, the Russians have finally made
<font color="#ffff00">Yes, here they took Sherwood.</font>

369
00:34:04,540 --> 00:34:06,780
<font color="#ffff00">Yes, here they took Sherwood.</font>

370
00:34:06,780 --> 00:34:07,020
<font color="#ffff00">This the famous position</font>
<font color="#ffff00">Yes, here they took Sherwood.</font>

371
00:34:07,020 --> 00:34:10,420
<font color="#ffff00">This the famous position</font>
<font color="#ffff00">Ukrainians hold for a long time</font>

372
00:34:10,420 --> 00:34:10,660
<font color="#ffff00">This the famous position</font>
<font color="#ffff00">called Sherwood Forest.</font>

373
00:34:10,660 --> 00:34:12,900
<font color="#ffff00">called Sherwood Forest.</font>

374
00:34:12,900 --> 00:34:15,140
Really?
<font color="#ffff00">Yeah, yeah, it's for a joke,</font>

375
00:34:15,140 --> 00:34:17,620
<font color="#ffff00">but it's the real name</font>
<font color="#ffff00">of this position.</font>

376
00:34:17,620 --> 00:34:20,580
<font color="#ffff00">So, they took it</font>
<font color="#ffff00">and they took the village after it.</font>

377
00:34:20,580 --> 00:34:22,060
What does the medic want to do?

378
00:34:22,060 --> 00:34:24,540
<font color="#ffff00">So, he want to go</font>
<font color="#ffff00">to evacuation spot.</font>

379
00:34:24,540 --> 00:34:27,460
<font color="#ffff00">He want to show us, yeah,</font>
<font color="#ffff00">"This is the hard front line."</font>

380
00:34:27,460 --> 00:34:27,700
<font color="#ffff00">He want to show us, yeah,</font>
OK.

381
00:34:27,700 --> 00:34:28,460
OK.

382
00:34:28,460 --> 00:34:30,020
<font color="#ffff00">Battles are raging now</font>

383
00:34:30,020 --> 00:34:30,260
<font color="#ffff00">and the best place to...</font>
<font color="#ffff00">Battles are raging now</font>

384
00:34:30,260 --> 00:34:35,220
<font color="#ffff00">and the best place to...</font>
<font color="#ffff00">is really possible to get</font>

385
00:34:35,220 --> 00:34:37,820
<font color="#ffff00">is this evacuation spot</font>
<font color="#ffff00">for the medics.</font>

386
00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:50,180
The operation was timed
for 4:30 in the morning

387
00:34:50,180 --> 00:34:50,460
The operation was timed
for 4:30 in the morning
and they were expecting
a lot of casualties.

388
00:34:50,460 --> 00:34:53,660
and they were expecting
a lot of casualties.

389
00:34:55,020 --> 00:34:56,660
Later that night

390
00:34:56,660 --> 00:34:58,700
I watched the Russian drone footage

391
00:34:58,700 --> 00:35:01,660
from their previous assault
on Sherwood Forest.

392
00:35:02,620 --> 00:35:05,380
We were heading up
to the same location.

393
00:35:09,100 --> 00:35:13,380
And, as I watched the armoured
vehicles advance across the fields,

394
00:35:13,380 --> 00:35:16,660
I began to feel
a sense of looming dread.

395
00:35:24,740 --> 00:35:26,100
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

396
00:35:26,100 --> 00:35:28,500
<font color="#00ffff">(GUNFIRE)</font>

397
00:35:28,500 --> 00:35:30,980
The sounds here
are so much more terrifying

398
00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:31,220
The sounds here
than the sounds I heard...

399
00:35:31,220 --> 00:35:33,220
than the sounds I heard...

400
00:35:33,220 --> 00:35:34,020
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

401
00:35:34,020 --> 00:35:37,700
..in Donetsk,
which is only 15 kilometres away.

402
00:35:37,700 --> 00:35:37,940
..in Donetsk,
I'm now right on the front lines.

403
00:35:37,940 --> 00:35:39,620
I'm now right on the front lines.

404
00:35:39,620 --> 00:35:42,900
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSIONS NEARBY)</font>

405
00:36:19,260 --> 00:36:20,900
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

406
00:36:25,580 --> 00:36:28,100
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

407
00:36:56,220 --> 00:36:58,620
They told me it would be safe,

408
00:36:58,620 --> 00:36:58,860
but we hadn't even reached
They told me it would be safe,

409
00:36:58,860 --> 00:37:01,740
but we hadn't even reached
Sherwood Forest...

410
00:37:01,740 --> 00:37:03,260
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS NEARBY)</font>
<font color="#00ffff">Go, go, go, go, go.</font>

411
00:37:03,260 --> 00:37:05,340
..and we immediately
came under attack.

412
00:37:05,340 --> 00:37:05,580
..and we immediately
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

413
00:37:05,580 --> 00:37:07,980
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

414
00:37:07,980 --> 00:37:09,860
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

415
00:37:10,820 --> 00:37:12,500
<font color="#00ffff">Let's go.</font>

416
00:37:14,660 --> 00:37:16,260
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELL WHIZZES OVERHEAD)</font>

417
00:37:19,900 --> 00:37:21,580
<font color="#ffff00">Watch these guys.</font>

418
00:37:25,860 --> 00:37:28,340
<font color="#ffff00">Three by three.</font>
<font color="#00ffff">Da, da, da.</font>

419
00:37:28,340 --> 00:37:28,580
<font color="#ffff00">Three by three.</font>
<font color="#00ffff">Da, da, da.</font>
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

420
00:37:28,580 --> 00:37:32,540
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

421
00:37:34,540 --> 00:37:35,940
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

422
00:37:39,220 --> 00:37:41,220
<font color="#00ffff">No.</font>
Yeah.

423
00:37:42,420 --> 00:37:44,620
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

424
00:37:44,620 --> 00:37:47,380
There are mines all over this forest.

425
00:37:47,380 --> 00:37:49,060
<font color="#00ffff">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

426
00:37:55,620 --> 00:37:56,660
OK.

427
00:37:58,620 --> 00:38:01,820
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSIONS IN DISTANCE)</font>

428
00:38:01,820 --> 00:38:03,460
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

429
00:38:07,180 --> 00:38:09,380
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

430
00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:28,180
<font color="#ffff00">It was a fox hole.</font>

431
00:38:28,180 --> 00:38:29,300
Fox hole?
<font color="#ffff00">See rockets?</font>

432
00:38:29,300 --> 00:38:29,540
Fox hole?
<font color="#ffff00">Rockets there.</font>

433
00:38:29,540 --> 00:38:30,700
<font color="#ffff00">Rockets there.</font>

434
00:38:33,300 --> 00:38:35,740
Following in the wake of carnage.

435
00:38:35,740 --> 00:38:39,500
All these burnt-out, exploded APCs.

436
00:38:41,460 --> 00:38:43,260
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

437
00:38:43,260 --> 00:38:46,220
<font color="#00ffff">A lot of unexploded shit here.</font>
<font color="#00ffff">Be very carful.</font>

438
00:39:05,140 --> 00:39:06,460
Nice forest.

439
00:39:06,460 --> 00:39:07,460
(PUFFS)

440
00:39:07,460 --> 00:39:09,660
History was repeating itself

441
00:39:09,660 --> 00:39:11,700
both as tragedy and farce

442
00:39:11,700 --> 00:39:13,260
in the same fields

443
00:39:13,260 --> 00:39:13,500
where millions of soldiers
in the same fields

444
00:39:13,500 --> 00:39:16,940
where millions of soldiers
had been killed in World War II.

445
00:39:23,740 --> 00:39:28,100
Putin has cast this war as a rerun
of the Great Patriotic War,

446
00:39:28,100 --> 00:39:31,020
but now Russia is the aggressor
and the invader.

447
00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:35,820
Yeah, yeah.

448
00:39:35,820 --> 00:39:36,020
Yeah, yeah.
No-one leaves their kit, do they?

449
00:39:36,020 --> 00:39:37,980
No-one leaves their kit, do they?

450
00:39:40,660 --> 00:39:43,220
What's he looking for?
<font color="#ffff00">It's Ukrainian body.</font>

451
00:39:46,060 --> 00:39:49,140
I thought I'd find some answers
in the forest.

452
00:39:50,180 --> 00:39:53,860
But all I found
was more death and destruction.

453
00:39:53,860 --> 00:39:54,100
But all I found
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

454
00:39:54,100 --> 00:39:55,140
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

455
00:39:55,140 --> 00:39:58,980
<font color="#00ff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>

456
00:39:58,980 --> 00:40:01,660
<font color="#ffff00">Distance.</font>
OK.

457
00:40:01,660 --> 00:40:01,900
<font color="#ffff00">Distance.</font>
Another new disturbing...

458
00:40:01,900 --> 00:40:03,740
Another new disturbing...

459
00:40:03,740 --> 00:40:04,900
(EXHALES HEAVILY)

460
00:40:04,900 --> 00:40:09,820
..here, for me,
is walking through these woods

461
00:40:09,820 --> 00:40:11,700
with these tree stumps,

462
00:40:11,700 --> 00:40:13,660
twisted wood, metal,

463
00:40:13,660 --> 00:40:15,060
dead bodies.

464
00:40:16,780 --> 00:40:18,500
Oh, my God.

465
00:40:19,460 --> 00:40:23,460
(QUIETLY) It's like when Zelenskyy
said this is "hell on earth."

466
00:40:23,460 --> 00:40:28,580
This is what the Russian bombardment
looks like to a Ukrainian.

467
00:40:30,380 --> 00:40:33,020
Lots of booby traps here, Sasha,
mines, yeah?

468
00:40:34,340 --> 00:40:37,900
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

469
00:40:37,900 --> 00:40:38,140
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>
The ground is littered with shells,
spent shells.

470
00:40:38,140 --> 00:40:42,460
The ground is littered with shells,
spent shells.

471
00:40:42,460 --> 00:40:43,260
Unexploded.
<font color="#00ffff">Sorry...</font>

472
00:40:43,260 --> 00:40:43,500
Unexploded.
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

473
00:40:43,500 --> 00:40:45,980
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

474
00:40:45,980 --> 00:40:47,500
<font color="#00ffff">Oi. Let's go.</font>

475
00:40:47,500 --> 00:40:49,620
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

476
00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:54,500
We'd reached the edge of the forest.

477
00:40:54,500 --> 00:40:56,700
It had taken the Russians six months

478
00:40:56,700 --> 00:40:58,220
and thousands of men

479
00:40:58,220 --> 00:41:00,100
to get this far.

480
00:41:00,100 --> 00:41:03,260
This log
was their most forward position

481
00:41:03,260 --> 00:41:03,500
This log
and the end of my journey.

482
00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:05,500
and the end of my journey.

483
00:41:05,500 --> 00:41:08,020
There was nothing more to see,

484
00:41:08,020 --> 00:41:08,260
just more fields stretching out
There was nothing more to see,

485
00:41:08,260 --> 00:41:12,060
just more fields stretching out
across the vast plains of Ukraine.

486
00:41:12,060 --> 00:41:12,300
just more fields stretching out
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

487
00:41:12,300 --> 00:41:14,620
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

488
00:41:14,620 --> 00:41:18,340
A lot of men have given their lives
to take these woods, haven't they?

489
00:41:24,660 --> 00:41:27,060
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

490
00:41:27,060 --> 00:41:28,780
Do they feel the world doesn't...

491
00:41:28,780 --> 00:41:30,940
..or the West
doesn't understand them?

492
00:41:41,140 --> 00:41:43,500
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

493
00:41:57,780 --> 00:42:00,180
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION IN DISTANCE)</font>

494
00:42:15,660 --> 00:42:18,420
<font color="#00ffff">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

495
00:42:18,420 --> 00:42:21,420
<font color="#00ff00">(SPEAKS IN RUSSIAN)</font>
(BREATHES HEAVILY)

496
00:42:31,380 --> 00:42:33,300
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELLS WHIZZ OVERHEAD)</font>

497
00:42:33,300 --> 00:42:33,500
<font color="#00ff00">(SHELLS WHIZZ OVERHEAD)</font>
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

498
00:42:33,500 --> 00:42:34,860
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

499
00:42:45,260 --> 00:42:47,460
<font color="#00ff00">(EXPLOSION NEARBY)</font>

500
00:42:56,860 --> 00:43:00,540
Last year the headlines
were all about Ukraine winning,

501
00:43:00,540 --> 00:43:03,940
and the West
ramped up its military support.

502
00:43:05,700 --> 00:43:07,420
Now they're about stalemate,

503
00:43:07,420 --> 00:43:10,780
and some in the West
are talking about cutting support.

504
00:43:14,980 --> 00:43:17,300
Russia may still feel it can win.

505
00:43:17,300 --> 00:43:19,300
But what would victory look like?

506
00:43:20,860 --> 00:43:24,220
The eastern front
has been reduced to rubble

507
00:43:24,220 --> 00:43:27,340
and many towns
now resemble Stalingrad.

508
00:43:28,820 --> 00:43:31,780
Putin has failed
to bring Kyiv to heel

509
00:43:31,780 --> 00:43:33,820
and the invasion
has only strengthened

510
00:43:33,820 --> 00:43:34,060
and the invasion
Ukraine's sense of national identity.

511
00:43:34,060 --> 00:43:36,860
Ukraine's sense of national identity.

512
00:43:42,980 --> 00:43:46,540
I met a lot of good men
on the front lines.

513
00:43:46,540 --> 00:43:46,780
I met a lot of good men
But in years to come

514
00:43:46,780 --> 00:43:48,260
But in years to come

515
00:43:48,260 --> 00:43:52,780
I couldn't help wondering how many
would still believe in the cause.

516
00:44:00,700 --> 00:44:02,740
(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)

517
00:44:18,980 --> 00:44:20,980
Captions by Red Bee Media

518
00:44:20,980 --> 00:44:23,180
Copyright
Australian Broadcasting Corporation