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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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00:02:07,823 --> 00:02:09,955
[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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00:02:36,460 --> 00:02:39,159
[gunfire echoes in distance]

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00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:41,291
[nearby gunfire]

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00:02:47,123 --> 00:02:49,038
[gunfire continues]

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[rapid firing]

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[soldier exhaling]

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00:03:56,148 --> 00:03:57,367
[chatter on radio]

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00:04:18,954 --> 00:04:20,869
[explosion booms]

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[mortar whistles]

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-[distant men shouting]
-[mortars exploding]

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00:04:54,772 --> 00:04:56,470
[man exclaiming]

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00:05:16,141 --> 00:05:18,187
[men shouting]

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00:05:43,343 --> 00:05:45,301
[engine revving]

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00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:00,708
[engine continues revving]

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00:06:18,290 --> 00:06:20,249
[engine continues revving]

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00:06:40,051 --> 00:06:41,705
[soldier grunts]

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00:06:41,879 --> 00:06:45,274
-[explosions boom]
-[men screaming]

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00:07:38,501 --> 00:07:40,416
[thunder rumbles]

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00:08:10,577 --> 00:08:12,013
[distant gunfire
and explosions intensify]

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00:08:32,337 --> 00:08:34,383
[Piro shouts]

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00:08:35,602 --> 00:08:37,386
[groaning in pain]

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00:09:29,220 --> 00:09:32,049
[Piro groaning in pain]

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00:10:03,167 --> 00:10:04,952
[distant explosion booms]

38
00:10:06,127 --> 00:10:08,608
[mortar whistles by, explodes]

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00:10:17,921 --> 00:10:19,967
♪

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00:10:35,591 --> 00:10:37,506
[wind blowing]

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00:10:49,300 --> 00:10:51,259
♪

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REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
Both Ukraine and Russia

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00:10:58,745 --> 00:11:02,096
are reporting fierce fighting
along the frontlines.

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00:11:02,226 --> 00:11:03,967
REPORTER 2 [voice-over]:
Ukrainian forces have

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00:11:04,098 --> 00:11:07,492
now launched their much talked
about counteroffensive.

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00:11:07,623 --> 00:11:09,320
REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
The new counteroffensive,

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00:11:09,451 --> 00:11:12,236
expected to be the biggest
military operation in Europe

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00:11:12,410 --> 00:11:14,674
since World War II.

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REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Russian forces

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00:11:18,895 --> 00:11:20,549
are concentrated,
they are deeply embedded.

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00:11:20,723 --> 00:11:24,422
They've been building
fortifications and defenses.

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00:11:24,596 --> 00:11:27,295
With virtually no independent
reporting from the frontlines,

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00:11:27,469 --> 00:11:29,253
it's impossible to assess

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00:11:29,427 --> 00:11:31,865
the degree to which
Ukraine's operation is underway

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00:11:32,039 --> 00:11:34,302
or whether it's having success.

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00:11:38,349 --> 00:11:41,048
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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00:11:46,270 --> 00:11:49,404
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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00:11:57,455 --> 00:12:00,415
squeezed between
two minefields.

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00:12:00,545 --> 00:12:03,113
The only way to Andriivka,

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00:12:03,287 --> 00:12:06,247
a village on
the outskirts of Bakhmut.

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00:12:07,857 --> 00:12:11,078
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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00:13:01,563 --> 00:13:05,132
2,000 meters,
approximately one mile,

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00:13:05,306 --> 00:13:07,264
of the heavily fortified forest

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00:13:07,395 --> 00:13:11,268
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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00:13:18,580 --> 00:13:21,061
And we want to be there
when it happens.

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00:13:24,716 --> 00:13:28,851
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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00:16:22,938 --> 00:16:24,853
It makes us priority targets.

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00:16:38,214 --> 00:16:39,911
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
If we are lucky,

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00:16:40,086 --> 00:16:43,698
today we'll get to Fedya
and film him raising the flag.

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00:16:45,656 --> 00:16:47,528
But we are all nervous.

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00:16:49,138 --> 00:16:51,053
The forest
leading to the village

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has killed many men.

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00:17:11,421 --> 00:17:14,555
[gear clattering]

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00:17:21,257 --> 00:17:22,824
[door slams shut]

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CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Before departing,

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00:17:28,873 --> 00:17:31,050
I kept looking at the map.

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00:17:31,224 --> 00:17:33,052
2,000 meters.

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00:17:33,226 --> 00:17:35,054
Three months.

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00:17:35,228 --> 00:17:37,534
It didn't make sense.

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00:17:37,708 --> 00:17:40,450
Why did it take so long?

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00:17:40,624 --> 00:17:43,497
Then they showed us.

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00:17:43,627 --> 00:17:47,370
Videos from
helmet cameras, drones.

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00:17:47,544 --> 00:17:49,633
Records of
all the violent battles

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on the way to Andriivka.

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00:17:52,419 --> 00:17:56,031
Each one an attempt
to get closer.

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00:17:56,205 --> 00:17:57,946
Each one taking its toll.

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00:18:02,255 --> 00:18:03,430
[bullets bouncing off vehicle]

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00:18:09,436 --> 00:18:11,568
-[guns rapid-firing]
-[men screaming]

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00:18:13,788 --> 00:18:15,616
[bullets echoing]

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00:18:21,578 --> 00:18:23,450
[men yelling]

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00:18:34,983 --> 00:18:37,116
-[explosion booms]
-[men groaning]

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00:19:06,580 --> 00:19:08,495
[tank fires]

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00:19:13,804 --> 00:19:16,503
[gun clicking]

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00:20:08,642 --> 00:20:10,339
[gun firing]

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00:20:15,083 --> 00:20:16,519
[soldier panting]

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00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:18,102
[distant explosion echoes]

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00:21:22,585 --> 00:21:24,544
[gunfire echoing]

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00:23:47,426 --> 00:23:49,428
♪

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00:23:58,611 --> 00:24:01,091
CHERNOV [voice-over]: Some of
these battles gained ground.

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00:24:01,265 --> 00:24:04,051
Some pushed the brigade back.

128
00:24:04,225 --> 00:24:06,096
But they kept fighting.

129
00:24:06,270 --> 00:24:08,403
And now we follow their steps.

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00:24:14,148 --> 00:24:16,280
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
8:30 a.m.

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00:24:16,455 --> 00:24:18,631
Our transport
reaches the forest.

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00:24:20,676 --> 00:24:24,288
One of the soldiers tells me,
"It's like landing on a planet

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00:24:24,419 --> 00:24:27,466
where everything
is trying to kill you."

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00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,731
But it's not another planet,
I tell myself.

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00:24:31,905 --> 00:24:33,559
It's the middle of Europe.

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00:24:37,127 --> 00:24:39,303
Now we have to get to Fedya.

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00:24:39,478 --> 00:24:42,829
But instead of him,
we meet one of his soldiers

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00:24:42,959 --> 00:24:44,787
with the call sign "Freak."

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00:25:11,597 --> 00:25:13,512
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He calls us "pencils"

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00:25:13,642 --> 00:25:16,427
so that the Russians
intercepting radio chatter

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00:25:16,602 --> 00:25:18,168
don't know we arrived.

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00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,016
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
The battles moved forward,

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00:25:40,190 --> 00:25:42,671
closer to the village,

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00:25:42,845 --> 00:25:46,545
leaving the destroyed armored
vehicles and bodies behind.

145
00:25:48,459 --> 00:25:51,811
The fields and the roads around
were mined by the Russians.

146
00:25:53,334 --> 00:25:55,336
The forest is the only way.

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00:25:59,949 --> 00:26:01,081
[distant explosion booms]

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00:26:09,350 --> 00:26:12,353
CHERNOV [voice-over]: The
village is 2,000 meters ahead.

149
00:26:12,483 --> 00:26:16,009
35 seconds for
a mortar shell to fly.

150
00:26:16,183 --> 00:26:17,793
A two-minute drive.

151
00:26:17,967 --> 00:26:20,448
A ten-minute run.

152
00:26:20,579 --> 00:26:23,407
But here, time doesn't matter.

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00:26:23,582 --> 00:26:25,801
Distance does.

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00:26:25,975 --> 00:26:29,457
And it's measured by pauses
between the explosions.

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00:26:32,982 --> 00:26:33,940
[explosion booms]

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00:26:34,984 --> 00:26:36,551
[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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00:27:07,234 --> 00:27:10,629
that Fedya is
in the middle of the fight.

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00:27:10,803 --> 00:27:13,066
The battle in Andriivka
is raging.

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00:28:46,072 --> 00:28:47,247
[man speaks on radio]

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00:29:23,152 --> 00:29:24,371
[explosion booms]

162
00:29:48,917 --> 00:29:50,876
[helicopter whirring
in distance]

163
00:30:05,978 --> 00:30:07,109
[laughing]

164
00:30:07,283 --> 00:30:09,808
[explosions boom in distance]

165
00:30:54,765 --> 00:30:56,158
[laughter]

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00:30:59,814 --> 00:31:00,946
[chatter over radio]

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00:31:26,406 --> 00:31:27,581
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
As we talk,

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00:31:27,711 --> 00:31:28,930
I'm thinking about Andriivka,

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00:31:29,061 --> 00:31:31,193
focusing on the radio chatter

170
00:31:31,324 --> 00:31:33,717
and losing the thread
of the conversation.

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00:31:33,892 --> 00:31:36,938
But the camera keeps recording.

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00:31:37,112 --> 00:31:41,290
Freak was 12 when Russia
invaded Ukraine in 2014.

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00:31:41,464 --> 00:31:43,423
When the full-scale
invasion started,

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00:31:43,597 --> 00:31:46,339
he left university,
returned to his hometown,

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00:31:46,469 --> 00:31:49,124
and joined
the territorial defense.

176
00:31:49,298 --> 00:31:52,736
From there, he moved
to the 3rd Assault Brigade.

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00:31:52,911 --> 00:31:56,305
At the time we speak, he is 22.

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00:31:56,479 --> 00:31:59,265
Five months from now,
he will be injured in a battle

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00:31:59,439 --> 00:32:03,269
for another forest,
his body never found.

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00:33:00,456 --> 00:33:02,676
♪

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00:33:14,383 --> 00:33:15,994
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Freak told us how the brigade

182
00:33:16,168 --> 00:33:18,779
fought for this part
of the forest,

183
00:33:18,909 --> 00:33:21,260
trying to push Russians
from their trenches.

184
00:33:22,522 --> 00:33:24,959
Halfway to Andriivka.

185
00:33:26,439 --> 00:33:30,312
Their helmet cameras captured
every step of the battle.

186
00:34:22,277 --> 00:34:23,713
[soldier yelling]

187
00:34:58,139 --> 00:35:00,098
[gunshots firing]

188
00:35:19,378 --> 00:35:21,249
[machine guns firing]

189
00:35:26,167 --> 00:35:28,822
[soldier shouting]

190
00:35:45,534 --> 00:35:47,449
[gunshots firing]

191
00:36:04,684 --> 00:36:06,251
[soldier screams]

192
00:36:21,570 --> 00:36:24,182
[gunshots firing]

193
00:36:24,312 --> 00:36:25,357
[soldier groans]

194
00:36:29,970 --> 00:36:30,884
[soldier groans]

195
00:36:40,415 --> 00:36:41,677
[man speaking on radio]

196
00:36:41,851 --> 00:36:43,288
[rocket whizzes by
and explodes]

197
00:36:53,254 --> 00:36:55,213
[gunshots firing]

198
00:36:58,564 --> 00:37:00,479
[men talking]

199
00:37:23,719 --> 00:37:25,112
[rocket whizzes by
and explodes]

200
00:37:32,728 --> 00:37:34,556
[man speaking on radio]

201
00:38:13,508 --> 00:38:14,988
[gunshots firing]

202
00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:01,050
[man speaking on radio]

203
00:40:02,269 --> 00:40:04,227
[projectile whizzes by]

204
00:40:14,455 --> 00:40:16,283
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
It's now 10:00 a.m.

205
00:40:17,850 --> 00:40:21,506
We are still pinned down
in this damned foxhole,

206
00:40:21,680 --> 00:40:24,117
waiting to get to Fedya.

207
00:40:32,865 --> 00:40:34,954
-[drones buzzing]
-[gunfire in distance]

208
00:42:31,505 --> 00:42:34,856
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
At last, we start moving.

209
00:42:35,030 --> 00:42:38,686
Andriivka is now
1,000 meters ahead.

210
00:42:38,817 --> 00:42:40,427
Halfway.

211
00:42:42,603 --> 00:42:44,649
The smell of death, explosives,

212
00:42:44,823 --> 00:42:47,347
and freshly cut trees
becomes stronger.

213
00:42:51,177 --> 00:42:54,876
I try to focus on
what needs to be done.

214
00:42:55,050 --> 00:42:58,053
We need to be there
when Fedya raises the flag.

215
00:43:16,419 --> 00:43:19,379
[explosions rumbling
in distance]

216
00:43:27,561 --> 00:43:29,476
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
11:00 a.m.

217
00:43:29,650 --> 00:43:31,130
We finally reach Fedya.

218
00:43:36,048 --> 00:43:38,050
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
His first question to us:

219
00:43:38,224 --> 00:43:40,139
"Where are your guns?"

220
00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:15,957
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Fedya is 24.

221
00:44:16,131 --> 00:44:18,612
Battle-promoted to sergeant.

222
00:44:18,786 --> 00:44:21,963
He has a scar on his lip from
playing war in his childhood

223
00:44:22,094 --> 00:44:24,662
and a job in a warehouse
before the invasion.

224
00:44:37,892 --> 00:44:39,328
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Freak gives him the flag

225
00:44:39,502 --> 00:44:41,896
and a note from headquarters,

226
00:44:42,070 --> 00:44:44,638
and he settles in a dugout
to read it.

227
00:45:50,443 --> 00:45:51,923
[explosions boom in distance]

228
00:46:17,209 --> 00:46:19,211
CHERNOV [voice-over]: I knew
what he meant when he said

229
00:46:19,341 --> 00:46:22,127
he never wanted
to be a soldier.

230
00:46:22,301 --> 00:46:23,302
None of us did.

231
00:46:37,011 --> 00:46:38,621
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
When we were children,

232
00:46:38,752 --> 00:46:41,755
every boy in the school
got military lessons.

233
00:46:43,539 --> 00:46:46,804
We marched, assembled
and disassembled Kalashnikovs.

234
00:46:48,196 --> 00:46:49,937
We shot.

235
00:46:50,111 --> 00:46:52,897
Ten bullets for each young man.

236
00:46:54,159 --> 00:46:57,292
But few of us saw
any point in this.

237
00:46:57,466 --> 00:47:00,252
There was no one to fight with.

238
00:47:00,382 --> 00:47:02,123
We had no enemies.

239
00:47:12,003 --> 00:47:13,395
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Before each battle,

240
00:47:13,569 --> 00:47:15,354
Fedya trains his men.

241
00:47:21,839 --> 00:47:24,842
CHERNOV [voice-over]: He shouts
at them and swears heavily.

242
00:47:26,582 --> 00:47:29,020
He knows that
some of them will die.

243
00:47:50,041 --> 00:47:51,607
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
When Russia invaded Ukraine,

244
00:47:51,781 --> 00:47:55,698
each one of us
had to make a choice.

245
00:47:55,873 --> 00:47:59,398
I took a camera
and started filming.

246
00:47:59,572 --> 00:48:02,488
Fedya took a gun.

247
00:48:02,662 --> 00:48:05,665
He was sure
Ukraine will win this war.

248
00:48:07,797 --> 00:48:09,843
♪ ♪

249
00:48:33,301 --> 00:48:34,999
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Fedya told us,

250
00:48:35,173 --> 00:48:38,437
after the brigade liberated
two-thirds of the forest,

251
00:48:38,611 --> 00:48:41,744
it was his battalion's turn
to push forward,

252
00:48:41,919 --> 00:48:44,704
the first assault operation
for many of his men.

253
00:49:41,891 --> 00:49:44,155
[officers conversing]

254
00:49:55,383 --> 00:49:56,297
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
In headquarters,

255
00:49:56,471 --> 00:49:58,299
Duda and other officers

256
00:49:58,430 --> 00:50:01,259
guided Fedya and his team
through the battlefield.

257
00:50:28,286 --> 00:50:30,331
[soldiers talking]

258
00:50:52,571 --> 00:50:54,573
[gunshots firing]

259
00:52:11,998 --> 00:52:13,913
[gunshots firing]

260
00:52:35,195 --> 00:52:36,849
[gunshots firing]

261
00:53:22,677 --> 00:53:24,636
[rapid gunfire intensifies]

262
00:53:43,045 --> 00:53:46,223
[men at headquarters
exclaiming]

263
00:54:18,733 --> 00:54:21,127
[guns firing]

264
00:54:44,672 --> 00:54:45,760
[chuckling]

265
00:54:54,421 --> 00:54:56,380
[bomb whistling through air]

266
00:54:58,817 --> 00:55:00,993
[rapid gunfire]

267
00:55:56,831 --> 00:55:59,181
♪

268
00:56:26,774 --> 00:56:30,038
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Another 300 meters were taken.

269
00:56:30,212 --> 00:56:32,084
But the further they advanced,

270
00:56:32,258 --> 00:56:35,217
the harder it was
to keep pushing.

271
00:56:35,348 --> 00:56:37,916
Medics could not believe
all these casualties

272
00:56:38,090 --> 00:56:39,918
were coming
from that tiny forest.

273
00:56:45,053 --> 00:56:47,142
CHERNOV [voice-over]: If they
continued losing so many men,

274
00:56:47,316 --> 00:56:50,537
they would not be able
to finish the offensive.

275
00:56:50,711 --> 00:56:52,583
REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
U.S. officials say

276
00:56:52,757 --> 00:56:54,280
Ukraine's much anticipated
offensive

277
00:56:54,454 --> 00:56:56,325
is slowly moving forward.

278
00:56:56,500 --> 00:56:58,371
REPORTER 2 [voice-over]:
Progress is modest but steady,

279
00:56:58,545 --> 00:56:59,894
according to
the Ukrainian forces,

280
00:57:00,025 --> 00:57:02,723
as they reclaim
villages and trenches

281
00:57:02,897 --> 00:57:05,900
dug by Russian forces.

282
00:57:06,031 --> 00:57:08,076
Ukraine says it has
liberated several villages

283
00:57:08,250 --> 00:57:09,643
from the Russians
in recent days.

284
00:57:09,817 --> 00:57:11,428
REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
Villagers emerged from

285
00:57:11,602 --> 00:57:13,430
the basements, the bunkers
they'd been hiding in,

286
00:57:13,604 --> 00:57:15,997
and were overjoyed to see
Ukrainian troops there,

287
00:57:16,171 --> 00:57:17,738
to see the blue and yellow
Ukrainian flag

288
00:57:17,912 --> 00:57:19,436
flying over their village
once again.

289
00:57:23,352 --> 00:57:25,572
Over in the northeast,

290
00:57:25,746 --> 00:57:27,574
that cauldron of violence,
Bakhmut,

291
00:57:27,748 --> 00:57:30,664
has also been the scene
of some Ukrainian gains

292
00:57:30,838 --> 00:57:32,623
of a few kilometers
in recent days.

293
00:57:34,494 --> 00:57:35,626
REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Ukraine also taking

294
00:57:35,800 --> 00:57:37,497
high casualties.

295
00:57:37,671 --> 00:57:39,194
REPORTER 5 [voice-over]:
Ukraine is a relative David

296
00:57:39,368 --> 00:57:40,326
to Russia's Goliath.

297
00:57:40,500 --> 00:57:41,936
They can't afford to lose

298
00:57:42,067 --> 00:57:44,156
three times the soldiers
that Russia does,

299
00:57:44,330 --> 00:57:45,723
so it has to proceed carefully.

300
00:57:45,897 --> 00:57:47,551
If that isn't good enough,

301
00:57:47,725 --> 00:57:49,770
and actually they still end up
in a stalemate,

302
00:57:49,944 --> 00:57:51,816
Western confidence
is likely to dip.

303
00:57:51,990 --> 00:57:54,209
REPORTER 6 [voice-over]: If
we're not getting results here,

304
00:57:54,383 --> 00:57:56,124
then perhaps Ukraine wants
to think about another plan,

305
00:57:56,298 --> 00:57:59,780
even some land concessions
for peace.

306
00:57:59,911 --> 00:58:01,521
REPORTER 7 [voice-over]:
If Ukraine falls,

307
00:58:01,695 --> 00:58:03,828
then Russian forces will be
on Europe's doorstep.

308
00:58:04,002 --> 00:58:05,307
It becomes NATO's war.

309
00:58:05,482 --> 00:58:07,484
[soldiers chattering]

310
00:58:13,098 --> 00:58:16,101
[soldier shouting in pain]

311
00:58:17,406 --> 00:58:19,365
[shouting continues]

312
00:58:22,324 --> 00:58:24,588
♪

313
00:58:30,289 --> 00:58:32,204
[man panting]

314
00:58:35,555 --> 00:58:36,643
[weapon firing]

315
00:58:40,212 --> 00:58:42,040
[distant explosion echoes]

316
00:58:58,012 --> 00:58:59,971
[radio chatter]

317
00:59:10,547 --> 00:59:12,984
[man panting]

318
00:59:33,178 --> 00:59:36,050
[panting continues]

319
00:59:55,853 --> 00:59:57,071
[distant explosion echoes]

320
00:59:59,900 --> 01:00:01,728
[explosion booms]

321
01:00:01,902 --> 01:00:03,469
[rapid gunfire in distance]

322
01:00:07,821 --> 01:00:10,258
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
1:30 p.m.

323
01:00:10,389 --> 01:00:13,958
We stop again to wait for
the artillery duel to finish.

324
01:00:15,220 --> 01:00:17,091
The day seems endless.

325
01:00:18,919 --> 01:00:20,791
[distant explosions echo]

326
01:00:25,534 --> 01:00:29,103
After his injury,
Fedya was sent to the hospital.

327
01:00:29,277 --> 01:00:31,976
He quickly recovered
and returned to the forest.

328
01:02:21,781 --> 01:02:23,740
[talking over radio]

329
01:04:29,474 --> 01:04:31,476
[radio chatter]

330
01:04:51,104 --> 01:04:52,366
[explosion booms]

331
01:05:42,155 --> 01:05:44,244
[distant rumbling]

332
01:05:48,335 --> 01:05:50,294
[rolling paper crinkling]

333
01:06:05,657 --> 01:06:08,399
[mortar whistling closer]

334
01:06:19,497 --> 01:06:20,498
[Sheva exhales]

335
01:07:45,757 --> 01:07:47,411
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Sheva is 46.

336
01:07:49,108 --> 01:07:52,285
At the beginning of
the counteroffensive,

337
01:07:52,459 --> 01:07:54,635
he left a comfortable position
in the military police

338
01:07:54,809 --> 01:07:58,770
to volunteer with
the 3rd Assault Brigade.

339
01:07:58,944 --> 01:08:01,903
He will be injured in a battle
five months from now

340
01:08:02,034 --> 01:08:04,254
and will die in a hospital.

341
01:08:46,078 --> 01:08:47,123
[distant boom echoes]

342
01:08:58,438 --> 01:09:00,484
♪

343
01:09:16,848 --> 01:09:18,458
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
For the next battle,

344
01:09:18,589 --> 01:09:21,287
Fedya's friend and
second in command, Gagarin,

345
01:09:21,461 --> 01:09:23,159
replaced him in the forest.

346
01:09:50,098 --> 01:09:51,839
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He was 24.

347
01:09:52,013 --> 01:09:55,278
Hometown:
Polonne, Western Ukraine.

348
01:09:55,452 --> 01:09:58,411
He worked as a truck driver
in Europe.

349
01:09:58,585 --> 01:10:00,457
When the full-scale
invasion started,

350
01:10:00,631 --> 01:10:02,981
he returned and volunteered.

351
01:10:03,155 --> 01:10:04,852
He led the platoon to battle.

352
01:10:05,026 --> 01:10:08,465
They had to move
another 300 meters

353
01:10:08,639 --> 01:10:10,858
and reach the end
of the forest.

354
01:10:11,032 --> 01:10:13,992
After that, it was Andriivka.

355
01:10:14,166 --> 01:10:16,037
[soldiers shouting]

356
01:10:19,824 --> 01:10:21,478
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
His friend Kobzar

357
01:10:21,608 --> 01:10:23,393
followed him
on the battlefield.

358
01:10:33,881 --> 01:10:35,013
[guns firing]

359
01:12:31,608 --> 01:12:32,652
[empty gun clicking]

360
01:13:26,053 --> 01:13:27,925
[rapid gunfire exchange]

361
01:14:31,945 --> 01:14:33,947
♪

362
01:14:55,534 --> 01:14:57,449
[woman vocalizing]

363
01:15:07,981 --> 01:15:09,679
♪

364
01:15:21,952 --> 01:15:23,823
[woman vocalizing]

365
01:15:25,738 --> 01:15:27,392
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Gagarin was laid to rest

366
01:15:27,566 --> 01:15:30,003
in his hometown, Polonne,

367
01:15:30,177 --> 01:15:34,051
972 kilometers from Andriivka.

368
01:15:34,181 --> 01:15:37,184
And the entire neighborhood
came to his funeral

369
01:15:37,358 --> 01:15:40,405
to be with his mother
as she cried.

370
01:15:44,104 --> 01:15:47,499
They said it was
the 56th funeral here.

371
01:15:56,726 --> 01:15:58,641
♪

372
01:16:06,518 --> 01:16:08,520
[people conversing]

373
01:16:46,558 --> 01:16:48,386
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
Kobzar, the soldier

374
01:16:48,560 --> 01:16:52,085
who held Gagarin's hand
as he was dying in the forest,

375
01:16:52,259 --> 01:16:55,132
will be killed
five months from now

376
01:16:55,306 --> 01:16:58,570
by a drone strike in a battle
for another village.

377
01:17:11,452 --> 01:17:13,498
♪

378
01:17:59,675 --> 01:18:01,677
♪

379
01:18:08,422 --> 01:18:09,641
REPORTER 1 [voice-over]:
Western officials have

380
01:18:09,815 --> 01:18:10,947
expressed disappointment in

381
01:18:11,121 --> 01:18:12,731
a much vaunted
counteroffensive,

382
01:18:12,905 --> 01:18:14,820
which began in June.

383
01:18:14,994 --> 01:18:16,735
Ukraine has only taken back

384
01:18:16,866 --> 01:18:20,957
an estimated 100 square miles
of territory since then.

385
01:18:21,087 --> 01:18:23,002
REPORTER 2 [voice-over]: Well,
U.S. intelligence is now saying

386
01:18:23,176 --> 01:18:24,482
that Ukraine will fail to meet

387
01:18:24,612 --> 01:18:26,919
their counteroffensive
key goals.

388
01:18:27,093 --> 01:18:29,574
REPORTER 3 [voice-over]:
How sustainable is this level

389
01:18:29,748 --> 01:18:32,708
of support when there's really
no end in sight to the war?

390
01:18:34,405 --> 01:18:36,450
REPORTER 4 [voice-over]:
Russia has millions more men

391
01:18:36,624 --> 01:18:38,452
from whom to draw.

392
01:18:38,626 --> 01:18:40,716
There's no path
to a military victory here,

393
01:18:40,890 --> 01:18:42,718
only more death.

394
01:18:48,114 --> 01:18:50,073
♪ ♪

395
01:19:21,844 --> 01:19:23,759
♪ ♪

396
01:19:28,024 --> 01:19:29,895
[woman vocalizing]

397
01:19:50,873 --> 01:19:52,875
[woman vocalizing]

398
01:20:11,023 --> 01:20:12,938
[woman vocalizing]

399
01:20:45,014 --> 01:20:47,016
♪

400
01:20:50,410 --> 01:20:52,369
[woman vocalizing]

401
01:21:13,956 --> 01:21:15,871
[woman vocalizing]

402
01:21:31,799 --> 01:21:34,628
CHERNOV [voice-over]: The
counteroffensive was failing.

403
01:21:34,802 --> 01:21:38,763
Few believed Ukraine
could advance any further.

404
01:21:38,894 --> 01:21:42,201
But the brigade decided
to make its last stand.

405
01:21:43,550 --> 01:21:45,726
As Gagarin was laid to rest,

406
01:21:45,901 --> 01:21:48,904
the final battle
for Andriivka began.

407
01:21:49,078 --> 01:21:51,080
♪

408
01:21:56,999 --> 01:21:58,435
[soldier breathing heavily]

409
01:22:09,054 --> 01:22:10,534
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
All the battalions

410
01:22:10,708 --> 01:22:13,276
gathered their forces.

411
01:22:13,450 --> 01:22:16,279
First, they took positions
on the edge of the forest

412
01:22:16,453 --> 01:22:19,282
and in houses on the outskirts.

413
01:22:19,412 --> 01:22:21,762
Then, under the cover
of the smoke screen bombs,

414
01:22:21,937 --> 01:22:23,199
they moved in.

415
01:22:35,602 --> 01:22:37,082
[men talking on radio]

416
01:22:39,302 --> 01:22:40,825
[explosion detonates]

417
01:23:04,022 --> 01:23:05,850
[gunshots firing]

418
01:23:10,420 --> 01:23:12,509
[distant explosion echoes]

419
01:23:19,298 --> 01:23:21,083
[man talking over radio]

420
01:23:38,622 --> 01:23:40,624
[gunshots firing]

421
01:24:04,517 --> 01:24:05,736
[explosion booms]

422
01:24:07,781 --> 01:24:09,174
[soldier shouting]

423
01:24:20,055 --> 01:24:22,057
[man shouting]

424
01:24:24,537 --> 01:24:26,409
[rapid gunfire in distance]

425
01:24:57,222 --> 01:24:59,268
[explosions roar in distance]

426
01:26:02,809 --> 01:26:05,682
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]

427
01:26:08,902 --> 01:26:11,296
[soldiers talking]

428
01:27:02,173 --> 01:27:04,654
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]

429
01:27:07,047 --> 01:27:09,093
♪

430
01:27:30,984 --> 01:27:33,073
♪ ♪

431
01:27:38,818 --> 01:27:40,385
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
2:00 p.m.

432
01:27:40,559 --> 01:27:42,518
We are a hundred meters
from Andriivka.

433
01:27:50,395 --> 01:27:52,528
CHERNOV [voice-over]: Fedya
instructs us to start moving.

434
01:28:20,947 --> 01:28:23,472
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
We are finally in Andriivka.

435
01:28:25,082 --> 01:28:26,605
As Russians retreated,

436
01:28:26,736 --> 01:28:30,348
their artillery
shot indiscriminately.

437
01:28:30,522 --> 01:28:33,395
They were erasing
the village from the map.

438
01:28:38,878 --> 01:28:40,619
In the last 100 meters,

439
01:28:40,793 --> 01:28:43,622
there are bodies
scattered everywhere.

440
01:28:43,796 --> 01:28:45,363
Mostly Russians.

441
01:28:45,537 --> 01:28:47,583
A few Ukrainians.

442
01:28:52,327 --> 01:28:54,938
As we walk in,
Fedya receives a message

443
01:28:55,112 --> 01:28:58,681
that one of the soldiers in
his platoon has been injured.

444
01:29:39,417 --> 01:29:42,028
[explosions boom]

445
01:29:54,258 --> 01:29:56,260
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
He's severely shell-shocked.

446
01:30:04,181 --> 01:30:07,314
CHERNOV [voice-over]: We run
to the ruins of another house.

447
01:30:07,445 --> 01:30:09,839
This one at least
has a basement.

448
01:30:13,103 --> 01:30:14,931
[objects clattering]

449
01:30:57,974 --> 01:30:59,105
[explosion booms]

450
01:30:59,279 --> 01:31:01,107
[rock crumbling]

451
01:31:35,490 --> 01:31:36,578
[laughs]

452
01:31:37,927 --> 01:31:38,928
[explosion booms nearby]

453
01:31:46,326 --> 01:31:47,502
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
We settle in the basement,

454
01:31:47,676 --> 01:31:49,373
and artillery keeps hitting us.

455
01:31:51,418 --> 01:31:54,944
It's only now
the understanding comes to me.

456
01:31:55,118 --> 01:31:57,990
We really are in Andriivka.

457
01:31:58,121 --> 01:32:01,690
But the village
doesn't exist anymore.

458
01:32:01,820 --> 01:32:03,387
Among the ruins,

459
01:32:03,561 --> 01:32:05,868
there is hardly a place
to raise the flag.

460
01:32:08,087 --> 01:32:11,264
The villagers are dead or gone.

461
01:32:11,438 --> 01:32:14,093
Everything is destroyed.

462
01:32:14,267 --> 01:32:17,836
People, animals, memories.

463
01:32:18,010 --> 01:32:20,665
And all that is left of it
is a name.

464
01:32:20,796 --> 01:32:22,798
♪ ♪

465
01:32:50,347 --> 01:32:52,001
[man speaking on radio]

466
01:32:54,656 --> 01:32:58,094
-[explosion booms]
-[debris rains on basement]

467
01:33:10,846 --> 01:33:11,847
[nearby explosion booms]

468
01:33:23,685 --> 01:33:24,903
[distant gunfire echoes]

469
01:33:47,360 --> 01:33:49,275
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
I don't argue,

470
01:33:49,406 --> 01:33:52,496
but I doubt it will happen.

471
01:33:52,670 --> 01:33:54,672
I know Ukraine doesn't have
enough resources

472
01:33:54,803 --> 01:33:58,328
to continue
the counteroffensive.

473
01:33:58,502 --> 01:34:01,374
I know the Russians will
continue to reduce cities

474
01:34:01,548 --> 01:34:04,769
to a state where
there aren't even bricks left.

475
01:34:04,943 --> 01:34:08,555
And the longer it all goes on,

476
01:34:08,730 --> 01:34:10,993
the less the world
will care about it.

477
01:34:12,821 --> 01:34:15,606
I'm afraid this land
will remain frozen frontline

478
01:34:15,737 --> 01:34:17,303
for years.

479
01:34:25,485 --> 01:34:27,531
[Fedya speaking faintly]

480
01:35:12,184 --> 01:35:13,795
[explosion booms]

481
01:35:15,318 --> 01:35:17,146
[men chatting quietly]

482
01:35:36,121 --> 01:35:37,819
[explosion booms]

483
01:35:58,361 --> 01:35:59,928
[cat meows]

484
01:36:05,063 --> 01:36:07,109
[rocket whizzes by, explodes]

485
01:37:09,258 --> 01:37:11,651
[soldier coughing]

486
01:37:54,956 --> 01:37:56,871
♪ ♪

487
01:38:00,570 --> 01:38:01,876
[cat meows]

488
01:38:14,889 --> 01:38:16,064
[radio beeps]

489
01:38:36,823 --> 01:38:38,913
♪ ♪

490
01:39:00,412 --> 01:39:01,413
[radio beeps]

491
01:39:01,587 --> 01:39:03,807
[Fedya speaking]

492
01:39:06,505 --> 01:39:08,551
[distant explosions echo]

493
01:39:55,946 --> 01:39:57,339
[cat meows]

494
01:40:02,170 --> 01:40:04,172
♪

495
01:40:41,948 --> 01:40:44,038
CHERNOV [voice-over]:
8:00 p.m.

496
01:40:44,212 --> 01:40:45,865
When we were sitting
in the basement,

497
01:40:45,996 --> 01:40:48,259
Fedya told me,

498
01:40:48,433 --> 01:40:51,480
in his dreams, he fights
like hell in this forest.

499
01:40:53,003 --> 01:40:56,050
Then he wakes up
and goes back to the battle.

500
01:40:59,836 --> 01:41:03,579
And I thought,
this war is a nightmare

501
01:41:03,709 --> 01:41:05,668
none of us can wake up from.

502
01:41:10,064 --> 01:41:14,503
I envy Fedya because
he believes we will.

503
01:41:14,677 --> 01:41:18,376
He has the names of his friends
and the cities he has lost

504
01:41:18,550 --> 01:41:22,250
and a gun and a flag
to avenge them.

505
01:41:37,395 --> 01:41:38,788
[cat meows]

506
01:41:47,101 --> 01:41:48,406
[exhales]

507
01:42:57,432 --> 01:42:59,434
♪ ♪

508
01:43:16,015 --> 01:43:17,539
[sniffs]

509
01:43:28,463 --> 01:43:30,856
[woman vocalizing]

510
01:43:31,030 --> 01:43:32,989
[muffled rifle salute]

511
01:45:15,134 --> 01:45:17,093
♪

512
01:45:38,070 --> 01:45:40,159
♪ ♪

513
01:45:54,565 --> 01:45:56,480
[woman vocalizing]

514
01:46:22,027 --> 01:46:24,029
♪

515
01:46:44,049 --> 01:46:46,051
♪

516
01:47:06,594 --> 01:47:08,596
♪

517
01:47:27,832 --> 01:47:29,791
♪ ♪

518
01:47:45,937 --> 01:47:47,939
[music fades]