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TIME CODE |
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V/O |
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10:00:06 |
V/O |
Two years after
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an estimated 500 000 soldiers on both sides
have been killed or wounded |
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10:00:17 |
V/O |
The scale of human suffering is staggering and many towns on the eastern front now resemble a desolate moonscape |
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10:00:27 |
V/O |
I watched the invasion unfold live on my TV screen at home. |
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10:00:32 |
V/O |
But we’ve only really seen one side of this war, I wanted to see the other side. That’s why I’ve travelled to Russian occupied Ukraine |
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10:00:48 |
SYNC: SEAN on front line |
I’m now on the front lines, the sounds here are so much more terrifying than the sound I heard in Donetsk |
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10:01:06 |
V/O |
I was warned not to
go in with the Russians |
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10:01:12 |
V/O |
And some people
asked should we even be telling there side of the story? |
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10:01:19 |
V/O |
But when I found
myself riding into battle with the Russian army, I began to think I may have gone too far over to the other
side. But at that point… it was too late …to turn back. |
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10:01:32 |
PRE TITLE MONTAGE Archive and shot footage ARCHIVE - SUBTITLED |
PUTIN - ‘I decided to conduct a special military operation’ RUSSIAN MEDIA - Killing all the Urkainian Nazis, their namless allies and their pathetic perverts is not the problem. Special Forces - I don’t do interviews. Subian solider - To be honest, I’ve met so many people who said we weren’t needed here. Yulia - Thie is a dangerous place Nina - This is how we sleep |
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10:02:22 |
TITLES CARD - UKRAINE’S WAR: THE
OTHER SIDE |
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10:02:33 |
CARD - OCTOBER 2022 |
NEW READER - Vladimir Putin has just ordered a partial mobilization for the Russian military stepping up his campaign against Ukraine |
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10:02:39 |
ASTON - EIGHT MONTHS AFTER INVASION |
NEW READER - It follows a counter attack in the northeast of the country that led to significant setbacks for his forces. And he warned the West not to come to Ukraine. |
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10:02:49 |
V/O |
I arrived in Russia
a few weeks after Putin ordered a mobilization. The War had been going badly
since the invasion |
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10:02:58 |
V/O |
And according to
the headlines, Ukraine seemed to be winning and could even win this war. |
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10:03:06 |
V/O |
I’d read all the
reports on war crimes |
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10:03:14 |
V/O |
The Russian
occupied territory in the east of
Ukraine - known as the Donbas region -
had been under an effective media blackout. And I felt like I
was crossing over into the dark side of the moon |
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10:03:33 |
V/O |
My name is Sean
Langan. As a young foreign correspondent I covered the breakup of the Soviet Union. |
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10:03:40 |
V/O |
That was more than
30 years ago. And This was my first time back in Russia. I’d finally been
granted a press visa by the Foreign Affairs ministry in Moscow. |
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10:03:51 |
V/O |
And I’d hired a
local fixer from Donetsk, in
Russian occupied Ukraine. Sasha |
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10:04:10 |
V/O |
The only problem
was- I didn’t know if Sasha was working for me or the foreign affairs
ministry in Moscow |
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10:04:14 |
SYNC - SASHA |
Let’s not take all of them. Okay, finish. OKay . You want to stop? Yeah, Just is’t not about us |
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10:04:28 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sash - If they check our footage,it means we are gathering information. kay. Small footage. It's small footage. Sean : Okay Sasha, can I use the word war now or are we not allowed? Sash: War Sean: I'm not allowed to use the word war Saahs: OfficiallySay don't say it, but the journalists daon’t care Sean: OKAY Sasha: I'm not pro Kremlin. I can tell you.I can tell you how I feel it. I'm pro Ukrainian. Sean: Really? Sasha: I'm pro Ukrainian, but Ukrainian government is against Ukrainian people now. |
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10:05:15 |
ASTON - RUSSIAN BORDER WITH RUSSIAN OCCUPIED UKRAINE |
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10:05:13 |
SYNC - SEAN AND DRIVER |
SEAN- We're at the border now, so I have to stop filming. DRIVER: Yeah, stop SEAN: OKAY |
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10:05:23 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sean: I've noticed you've, uh,put the Z on the window now. Why is that? Sasha: It'll make it easier to get through checkpoints. Sean: Put the cameras down Sasha: And maybe some serious guys. These local Sean: oh my God.These are Chechnyans. do I have to be careful. Sasah: Ah, no, they're friends of mine. Sean: Really? Soldier: Woah, Woah a foreigner Sasha; Yes, but he;s got an accreditation from Donetsk.We got him through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we were working in Belgorod, now going to Donestsk. Soldier: Okay you may pass. Sean: Thank you Sasah: Okay you can film now. |
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10:06:10 |
SYNC - SEAN |
The closer we come to Donetsk, this feels like a war zone. |
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10:06:22 |
ASTON - DONETSK RUSSIAN - OCCUPUIED UKRAINE |
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10:06:28 |
V/O |
On my first night in Donetsk . The constant barrage of outgoing
artillery fire and rockets sounded like rolling thunder on the horizon |
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10:06:36 |
ASTON - 22ND OCTOBER 2022 |
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10:06:43 |
V/O |
That night Russia unleashed cruise missiles across Ukraine, cutting
off the power supply to over 1.5 million people. |
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10:06:53 |
V/O |
It was the beginning of Putin’s campaign to rain down rockets on Kyiv
and other cities in Ukraine |
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10:07:07 |
SYNC - SEAN IN FLAT |
First day in Donetsk So I've got all the home comforts, tv, lights, heating, uh, can make my coffee,but no, uh, water, uh, no running water there.I think the water comes on one day and then is off for three days.So I've got drinking bottled water in the fridge and you have a shower, flush the loo,and then three days just, uh, face wash.But the good news is the sound and the distant of artillery fire, rocket fire, that's fallen silent today.And it was all outgoing, but it begins to frail on your nerves. |
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10:07:46 |
RUSSIAN NEW TV |
An oil depot was destroyed in the area of Dinipropetrovsk which was
used to supply the Ukrainian armed forces in Donbas with fuel. |
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10:07:56 |
V/O |
I’d been told I wouldn't’ be allowed to show the truth and the
barrage of propaganda on Russian TV was a reminder of what I was up against |
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10:08:07 |
AUDIO RUSSIAN NEW TV |
The destroyed tibe
Ukrainian soldier communications centre |
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10:08:13 |
V/O |
There've been very
few reports from Donetsk since the war began, |
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10:08:26 |
V/O |
and the locals feel
their side of the story has been ignored. |
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10:08:34 |
SYNC - BUS PASSANGER AND SASHA |
Bus passenger : What the fuck are you filling Sasah: No one is filing you Bus passager: Don’t talk to me like that, I’m going to write to the authorities. Sasha: Go ahead |
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10:08:43 |
SYNC - SEAN |
uh, excited to get
off the bus |
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10:08:52 |
SYNC - WOMAN IN MEAT STALL |
We know you
foreigners, Don’t film |
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10:08:58 |
SYNC - SEAN, SASHA AND WOMAN IN GREEN FLUFFY COAT on street |
Woman: Hello Hello Sash: He’s a
director who’s come to make a documentary about us. Woman: It’s high
time someone did, not just here. And how we live, how we live under fire. We
go and work under fire all the time. Sasha: She said.
Yeah, its you should come before we wait for you for a long time Woman: We’re used
to living under fire. Yes We’re not afraid anymore. It’s already the ninth
year like this. We can twll the difference between incoming and outgoing
strikes |
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10:09:25 |
V/O |
As far as the
locals were concerned, Putin’s invasion in 2022 was a continuation of the war
that’s been simmering here in the Donbas since 2014. |
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10:09:40 |
SYNC - SEAN, SASHA and DONBAS SOLDIER - in burger bar |
Sean - Is he from Donetsk> Soldier - I’m local well Donbas, this is our fate, it’s just that our views differ from western Ukraine. They wanted to join Europe. We wanted to join Russia. We didn’t find neutral ground Sasha - When are you going back to the front line? Solider: the day after tomorrow. Sasha: the day after tomorrow, two day weekend. Solider: We were allowed have a two day break. Sean: How is this weekend Sasha: How was your weekend Soldier: I’m back to see my girlfreine, so I’m happy |
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10:10:24 |
V/O |
After a popular uprising in Kyiv overthrew the pro-Moscow president
in 2014, separatists here in the Donbas region launched an armed
insurrection with the support of Moscow. More than 2 million Ukrainians living in the east voted with their feet and
headed west. |
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10:10:45 |
SYNC - SASHA and SEAN walking the streets on Donetsk |
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10:10:55 |
V/O |
After Putin’s invasion, the occupied parts of Eastern Ukraine were
formally absorbed into Mother Russia |
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10:11:00 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA walking the streets on Donetsk |
Sasha: You can see Names of Russia cities,and
they're now mixed with cities of Don Peoples Republic.It's like they all
equal.You can see Mari There are other cities, uh,from Don Republic and also
big Sean: right |
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10:11:23 |
SYNC - SEAN, SASH AND OLD MAN IN BLACK CAP IN THE PARK |
OLD MAN: Where are you from Sasha: Where are you from Sean: London OLD MAN; London, A Yeah yeah yeah Sean: My fathers from OLD MAN: London No Sean: Why is he reacting like that, What can you explain to me. Sasha: Why did you react this way? Can you explain it? OLD MAN: Because they support fascists. Sean: How would he describe himself now is he Russian Urkianina OLD MAN: yes, It is now Russioan territory. And now I think I’m back in Soviet Union. Sassha, So now he suppose he came back to the Soviet Union |
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10:12:06 |
V/O |
Putin’s promise to rebuild the Russian empire after the breakup of
the Soviet Union - resonated deeply with many both here and in Russia. |
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10:12:18 |
V/O |
The great patriotic war has been used as a propaganda tool to justify
the invasion. |
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10:12:26 |
RUSSIONA NEW REEL |
Russina news reader: Killing all Ukrianian Nazis their nameless
allies and their pathertic pederats is not a problem Putin: Once again, I appeal to the Ukrainian soldiers Do not allow
neo-nazis and Banderites to use your children your wives and elderly as human
shields. |
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10:12:47 |
V/O |
But this war was never about fighting Nazis. |
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10:13:17 |
V/O |
Sasha and I were still trying to figure each other out |
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10:13:21 |
SYNC - SEAN |
Sean - I like these old Soviet era elevators |
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10:13:26 |
V/O |
He thought I might be working for London and I knew he was under pressure from Moscow to keep an eye on me. |
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10:13:31 |
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But I was
starting to warm to Sasha. He
genuinely loves his country. He was born in Donetsk - and his Aunty lives in
Kyiv. But he’s also loyal
to the Russian Motherland |
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10:13:41 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASH in Sasha’s flat |
Sean: It a nice place, Sasha |
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10:13:43 |
V/O |
Life on the borderlands here in Donbas is a lot more complicated than I had imagined. |
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10:13:49 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASH in Sasha’s flat |
Sasha: Check water
supply, Yeah, this is technical water Sean: Yeah, Shark
infested waters. Sasha: hello, Hi
Alena, I’m ok, I’m with Sean now, he’s filming while I’m talking |
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10:14:19 |
V/O |
Five minutes drive up the main boulevard, we reached the Soviet-built suburbs surrounding the city. |
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10:14:28 |
V/O |
The people here are living on the frontlines. |
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10:14:33 10:17:02 |
SYNC - SASHA, SEAN AND NINA V/O |
Sasha: And where exactly did it come in? Nina: And it hit the staircase Sasha: And it knocked out the window? Nina: Yes, the windows were blown out. You know,a s they say people line on the other side too and I don’t consider them enemies. My relatives line there, you know. When they report about bombing them, also cry for them.The new goverment in Kyevm never loved us, the east of Ukraine . And the angels are strong, strong in spirit let them take up arms around you and protect you. Here it is. This is how we sleep Sasha: Thats huge incoming Nina: Ahh its scary its scary Sean: She didn’t move Nina: From theres. when ir whistles, you don’t know where its going to fall either, So I’m going to throw the trash out and pray God will protect me. Help me come back and forth safe and sound Sasha: She asking God for to be secure to take out garbag. When she go out. Nina; So comrades, you should come here, There was a whistle somewhere. Sasha: She says we should move. Nina: Broths end us gifts Sasha: Did you hear the incoming blow whistling. I didn’t even hear it Nina: You didn’t hear it —------ Nina: A lot of people die `and a lot of children are dying, This is an incoming hit my dears. Sasha: A rocket came in somewhere near by, right. Nina: Somewhere on that side, yes
Sean: What is your name? Nina: My name is Nina _______
Sasha: Do you speak Ukrainian? Nina: I do, but I don’t use it. If you were born in Ukraine, it seeps in whether you want it or not. Sean: I will make the tea Nina: Bring him the teapot Sean: Does she like her tea with a little bit of lemon in? Sean: Doorbell? Nina: It’s Yulia. V/O Yulia is Nina’s grandaughter.
She popped over for tea and wanted to meet me. Yulia: I am a journalist, my first specialist was television and I’m studying Yulia: I am your colleague. Sean: Well it’s lovely to meet you. Sean: You can speak in Russian. Sasha: You live near here? Yulia: Yes, I live here about a Kilometer away, maybe. Sean: Do you stay at home more than you did before? Yulia: All the time at home. I’m tired. All the time, I’m at home. And I want to do things Sean: So you’ll spend all day in your apartment with your family, with your mother? Yulia: Yes ..If I want to go downtown.. I could die. Sasha: She can die. Yulia: Yes
Nina: Everyone’s nerves are on
the edge. . Sean: But I’m just wondering if you are scared to go into town but this feels more close ? Yulia: yes in general because the frontline is much closer than in the centre. This is my native land if I may say so. Sean: What is your native
land? Yulia: Ukraine, Ukraine, I was born in Ukraine, this is my country. Anyway despite the fact that politics has changed now, I still consider myself a Ukrainian and nothing has changed for me. And the Ukrainian language is my native language. All that culture is native to me. My father is Ukrainian and my mother is Ukrainian. My great grandparents are from there. My grandmother is from the Kiev region in Western Ukraine. My grandfather is from the Zaporozhye region. Donbass is a multicultural region, something like the USA for example, therefore I am Ukrainian. Someone there is a Azerbaijani, Tatar, it doesn’t matter to us at all. Sean: Spaseeba.. Yulia: See you later |
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10:19:22 |
V/O |
The next day I went
to Moscow to renew my visa but relations were so bad between the UK and
Russia that their foreign ministry insisted I could only do it in
London. I wasn’t sure if they would
let me back in |
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10:19:36 |
ASTON - ONE WEEK LATER |
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10:19:41 |
ASTON - 17 NOVEMBER 2022 |
|
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10:19:44 |
SYNC - SEAN in his flat |
Sean: I’m back now a few days, hadn’t turned my camera on until tonight. Seems to be even more caution more suspicion in the Interior Ministry. Now want to meet Sasha and me, now thats, they have drawn a long list now. So there is the Ministry of foreign affairs, ministry of defence, interior ministry, the FSB Sean answers phone: Hi Sasha, two rockets, I think quite big rockets, BOOM Sean: Are those incoming? Sasha: Yes, yes they are income up. Maybe I will come up Sean: Well be careful they are landing quite close Sean: I don’t want to stand by the window in my living room so I’ve come into the corridor. Phew - It’s quite a shock… and i feel quite embarrassed for those on the other side because I have been sitting here listening most of the time to barrages of it.. launched at targets in Ukraine, Knocking out the infrastructure so large parts Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine…. are without electricity or power Sean: Hang on Sasha Sasha: Hello Sean You heard the rocket on my phone Sasha :Rockets.. Ya ya I also heard it from my window Sean: Surely, most normal people would get into the car
and drive away. |
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10:21:46 |
V/O |
Sasha had arranged an embed with local forces. Formerly part of the breakaway Donetsk Peoples’ republic, they’ve been fighting since 2014 but are now a part of the Russian army |
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10:22:02 |
V/O |
thousands of soldiers are billetted in little dachas in the outskirts of Donetsk.. |
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10:22:11 |
V/O |
As we arrived at the Dacha, the men were getting ready to go out on a mission |
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10:22:24 |
SYNC - SASHA AND SOLIDER IN BALICAVA |
Soldier:
Three of us will go out and you will stay here. Sasha:
Ok good Soldier:
And meanwhile we will go. Upsound:
I can offer you a cup of tea Sean:
Spaseeba Sasha:
Sean is interested. Are you local? How long have you served here? Man
stoking fire: I don’t know if I should say about before or not. Because from
2001 to 2011 I served in the Ukrainian navy. Sean:
So at that point you were a part of the independent Ukrainian navy? He is now
fighting what is called the Man
stoking fire: To be honest I myself didn’t understand and I still don’t
understand how this could happen. There was no other way. I had to protect my
family and children Sean:
What does hope to be independent to be part of Russia or Sasha:
What is your goal, to be independent or to be part of Russia? Man
stoking fire:Part of Russia. To be a Russia citizen. Sean:
can I ask is he tired of this war? Miner in mask: Yes we are tired. I’m not young.
But what else can we do? The motherland is in danger. So… you get tired of
war quickly. Sean:
What’s he fighting for? Miner in mask: So that they would not come and destroy, rob and steal everything. Because we have nowhere to retreat. Something like that. Miner
in mask: This sounds like incoming |
|
10:24:47 |
V/O |
The local fighters
have been dismissed as pro Russian separatists and collaborators But they would
argue it was the revolution in Kyiv in 2014 that overthrew the elected
President at the time - who was pro-Moscow |
|
10:25:03 |
SYNC - SEAN, SASHA AND BACHA MAN |
Bucha
man: These are from Ukrainian positions - they were running away and they
left those Sean: Yeah there NATO |
|
10:25:10 |
V/O |
But there is a darker side to the pro Russian fighters in Ukraine. The Wagner group was originally set up to pursue Putin’s proxy war in support of the separatists in 2014. |
|
10:25:24 |
V/O |
Some of these men joined the Wagner group and were still with them during the invasion |
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10:25:32 10:27:29 |
SYNC - SEAN< SASH V/O |
Sasha: suppose if was some military company it wasn’t the Ukrainis army near Kyiv. Sean: yeh but what where they doing in Kyiv, I didn’t know the DNR where there Sasha: They were in Wagner Sean: Can I talk about that?
Sasha: He wants to talk more. Sean: So he was in Kyiv at the beginning? Sasha: First you were in Kyiv? Bucha Man: Yes, We were in Kyiv, in Bucha, Irpin Sean: And he was with the not the Donetsk Peoples Army but with the Wagner Group? Sasha: So it wasn’t DNR army but Wagner Group? Busha Man : Yes Sasha: Can we discuss that? Bucha Man:To be precise, It wasn’t Wagner it was Redout. Isn't it Redut? Both
were there, but each performed strictly different tasks.It was a very
interesting job! Sean:
We heard a lot about Bucha, it was on the news every day, about how the
Russians left there were all these bodies, they were accused of war crimes
there. Bucha
Man:On the 1st April we left. We were retreating, I was on foot. We worked as
a part of a private military group. We were told to withdraw and we left.
Everything was intact there. We left on the 1st and by the 4th was suddenly
online , it was a lie. V/O:
The UN documented at least 73 cases of unlawful killings and executions of civilians in Bucha. But
I realised I had right time or a safe place to ask about war crimes.. Sean:
he was just tell me he was in the Wagner group. That mercenary group is quite
sinister, They were fighting in Kyiv and in Bucha …which we have heard a lot |
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10:28:03 10:28:23 |
V/O FRONT LINE TRENCH DONETSK V/O |
The men were now
heading out to the which were less than 2 kms away - and they
agreed to take me Hundreds of
thousands of soldiers have been slaughtered in the trenches and in artillery
duels since the war began. And as we drove the short distance to the front. I
felt like I was travelling back to 1917.
|
|
10:29:19 |
SYNC: SOLDIER, SASHA AND SEAN |
SOLDIER:
A drone came right over here yesterday, They drop bombs Sasha:
they throwing grenades Sean :
No In this trench Soldier: This war is unpredictable. You don’t know what’s going to happen 5 min from now. Sean: Russia? Outgoing? Miner in trench: ya ya ya Soldier 2 in trench: SPG gunner came. They’ll kick some ass now, Greeting guys!
Solider 1 in trench : Greeting … Solider 2 in trench : Give way to the Rocketeers Solider Rocketeer : Go that way, we’re about to get to work. Sean: oh fuck Sean:Oh nice. It’s strange having a cup of tea here. It’s strange because I feel cosy and safe but it isn’t safe is it? Soldier: There is no safety here. Sean: The attrition rate you’re seeing on the frontlines is unbelievable something from wars of the past. WW1 and 2. This war is a year old and it’s estimated 300K dead and injured from both sides. Bakmult has been described as a meet grinder Solider in trench : Yes it is.. Lives are being ground up on both sides. It’s every house, every square metre. Crazy losses. Every inch, every piece of land is human life. Soldier: There are drones flying around, so be careful. Sean: so what has he heard Sasha Sasha: drones are over our heads .. Ukrainian drone .. so they are hiding you from big Injury Sasha: Lets go - it’s getting unsafe Soldier: You heard the drone? I’ve seen it, video saw that. This one is ours Sean: Bloody hell Sean: are these shell Russian shell? Solider: Russian Sean: All good then Sean: Oh look there is a drone Soldier: One Yeah Our Sean: Bloody hell Soldier: Its ours, ours Sean: Literally there is just a little drone edged up end on of the trench .. how above our heads Soldier: Where is it flying form? ITS NOT OURS Fuck no. It took off again. Are you fucking kidding me?
Sasha: Come on come come on Sean: hello pussy cat Miner: It didn’t use to be scary before. And now it’s scary. Because so many people have become maimed by these drones. Two or three people are killed everyday. Miner: My nerves are shot my wife said I changed in just one year Sasha: your wife siad what? I don’t understand?
Miner: My wife siad;You’ve already changed in all aspects .She says I no longer recognize you. I’m nervous and quick tempered. Sean: Fatigue here is a different type of fatigue isn't it? Miner: yes we are tired of war and we want a peaceful life. Go back to work and finish off my underground experience, return to my family. Sasha: What do you mean, finish off your underground experience? Miner: I worked at a mine before the war. Sasha: what is the most exhausting thing about it? Miner: It’s not clear when this will all end. |
|
10:34:15 END OF ACT 1 |
CARD - UKRAINE’S WAR THE OTHER SIDE |
|
|
10:35:00 - ACT 2 |
CARD - UKRAINE’S WAR THE OTHER SIDE |
|
|
10:35:07 |
V/O |
I’d met the local
fighters in Donetsk but I now wanted
to leave the city and meet the Russian
army fighting on the eastern front |
|
10:35:17 |
V/O |
Sasha knew a local commander who agreed to take us to a garrison town in the north . |
|
10:35:27 |
SYNC - SANYCH, SASHA AND SEAN |
Sanych: Of course we invite Sean to come along. I serve in the 60th battalion, our unit is called Veterans. Sanych: We, of course, will try to keep you safe, No, it’s scary even for me, I understand now, having been here, I understand how scary it is there. Because lots of friends died in front of my eyes. It’s really very scary. |
|
10:37:00 |
ASTON - 24TH NOVEMBER 2022 |
|
|
10:36:02 |
V/O |
In the
weeks before I arrived in Donetsk, the Ukrainian army had launched a lightning
counter-offensive in the east and around the city of Kharkiv. |
|
10:36:13 |
V/O |
The Russian army had been routed in Izium and Lyman and was
apparently in disarray. And they had
fallen back to the garrison town of Svatave |
|
10:36:25 |
ARCHIVE - RADIO REPORT |
Lemans captur is one of Russia’s worst military defeats since the start of its invasion and Military vechicles. These are signs the Russia’s had to flee |
|
10:36:38 |
V/O |
According to headlines back in the West, Ukraine was winning-
and could even win this war. |
|
10:36:48 |
SYNC - SANYCH, SASHA |
Sanych: So that he understands, the Ukrainians are several km away from here. This is the very edge Sasha: Ukrainian soldiers now. We are on the frontline now Sanych: Close it |
|
10:37:11 |
V/O |
The commander
wanted to introduce me to a tank commander he knew |
|
10:37:14 |
SYNC - SANYCH, SASHA |
Tank Commander: It’s defective Sanych: Won’t it explode Tank Commander: No Sanych: They’ve scattered mines out there.
Sasha: See the mines out there Sean: Oh yeah, Are those their mine, this is there mines Sasha: are they our mines Sanych: ye, Listen up Vova |
|
10:37:37 |
V/O |
This was my first encounter with a Russian unit and my first
encounter with a Russian tank |
|
10:37:45 |
V/O |
Neither seemed to be in good working
order. But they had been fighting for 6 months And taken a battering in their retreat from Izyum. And as they stood around
smoking cigarettes, the Ukrainians started shelling |
|
10:38:06 |
SYNC - SANYCH |
Sanych: We will try to leave, because we can get hit here now, we will leave here, I would hate for you to … I care about you already, that’s why Soldier: There will be a hit now Sanyach: lets go Sasha: We should run now. we should go. Because |
|
10:38:40 |
V/O |
When we got to Svatav it was full of cold and exhausted looking
soldier milling around in muddy street, strewn with broken down vehicles |
|
10:38:50 |
SYNC: SEAN AND YOUNG SOLIDER |
Sean: can I ask what it’s been like here? Young solider: I don’t like here to be here, because it is danger. Sean: Ya, because how old are you? Young soldier: Yah… I’m 19. Sean: My son’s age. What’s your name? Young
soldier: Ilham Sean: Irham, my name is Sean. Are you mobilized? Young soldier: No I am contract. I been in Balacla and Izyum and I now be here. In Svatava Sean: Can I ask what was it like for you in Izyum? Tough fighting? Young soldier: We lost so many good… comrades. Comrades. good men, It was all destroyed. We lost a lot of fighters while taking Izyum.It was a shame that they handed over Izyum Sean: You lost friends? Young soldier: Ya |
|
10:40:07 |
V/O |
And in the centre of the town we met up
with the tank commander we had seen up at the front lines |
|
10:40:16 |
SYNC: SEAN and TANK COMMANDER |
Sean: Where’s he been with this tank? Babka: Izyum, Borovaya. So now it’s here on the way to Svatove frontlines Sean: What was it like in Izyum? Because I saw that on TV. What was that like Babka: I have
to admit it was really tough. This is not my first conflict. It’s very
difficult in the sense that you do not see the enemy. Especially as they hide
behind civilians, which makes it very difficult for me to do my job.. They
hide in the city knowing we won’t shoot at civilians. |
|
10:40:48 |
V/O |
I had been warned that I would never be able to show truth if I went
to Russian-occupied Ukraine. And both Sasha and the But the cracks were beginning to show |
|
10:41:01 |
SYNC - Siberian Soldier Sanych, Alona TV reporter |
Siberian Solider: I’m not political as in “I’m liberating them, because they’ve been bombed for 8 years.” They say they bombed Donbass for 8 years, but that’s also politics.These Ukrainians regions wanted independence, but if, for example, the Belgorod Region wanted to go their own way, would Russia just let them go? No, there would be all sort of military actions. Sanych: I’m sorry, I’m going
to correct you now because I often hear “wanted independence”. I want to tell
you that I’m from Donetsk. People from all over Ukraine did not want
independence. In 2014 there waas an armed coup. Siberian Solider: I know that Sanych: …which was created by Americans. Siberian soldier: This is not important Sanych: How can it not be? Siberian Soldier: One in three people I asked in Donbas said we weren’t wanted here. Russia was not needed here. Bombed or not. To be honest, I’ve met so many people here who said the situation has worsened. More bombings… they said they bombed us only a little before. One in three, you know? Sanych: You know, you’re repeating the words of an ordinary man ithe street right now, or a babushka in the kitchen. Siberian Soldier: No, that’s clear Alona TV reporter: No, that’s
great. You said it very well. Thank you. |
|
10:42:24 |
V/O |
The reporter from
Russian TV thanked him for sharing. But the soldier’s outspoken comments were
later cut from her report |
|
10:42:40 |
V/O |
The commander said
it was time to leave |
|
10:43:00 |
SYNC - Sanych |
Sanych: How amazing it is that this fucking thin got back on one wheel WAGNER SONG: Summer and crossbows “Wagners” are on their way Somewhere, where coins jingle “They're-not-theres”* are dancing Summer and crossbows “Wagners” are on their way Somewhere, where coins jingle “They're-not-theres”* are dancing I was on a Tripoli dancefloor – Ride of the Valkyries I danced in Benghazi, Donbass, Palmyra |
|
10:43:30 |
V/O |
Afterwards, we stopped off to
pick up a couple of what they said were NATO made missiles. The driver was
keen to take us back to their place to show off their stock of captured
weapons |
|
10:43:42 |
SYNC - SEAN |
Sean - So we’re gonna go in,
first we’ll talk here.. I’ll turn my camera off. |
|
10:44:54 |
SYNC - SEAN AND DRIVER |
Sean: So these are all weapons NATO weapons. But they took from the Ukrainians Driver: There are NATO weapons seixed in combat Sean: And what's he going to do with them Sasha : What are you going to do with them Driver: Destroy them, There
was the nose. Both in terms of quality in everything |
|
10:44:22 |
V/O |
As we were talking, some men
stormed in |
|
10:44:25 |
SYNC - SPETSNAZ SOLDIER |
Male voice 1: Why did you bring him in? You Male voice 2: All hell is going to break loose now. I'm eating his liver Sasha: Don’t irritate them |
|
10:44:45 |
V/O |
They were Spetsnaz -the Russian elite special forces |
|
10:44:50 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SPETSNAZ SOLIDERS |
Sean: I can feel he's looking at me who the f*** is he. And he's right never trust journalists but I want I want Male Voice: He agree with you, why the hell. You're looking at me like what the f*** Male Voice: Tell him we're looking at his liver. He's always wanted to murder someone. Sean: Ukraines are saying they're winning And they took izium, Lyman Solider 1: Well let's start with the fact that they think we're retreating. That is Tactical move. We are definitely moving forward let them think we're backing down. They say that the Russians are retreating and have low morale. It's not true It's all wrong they have forgotten the Russian spirit. They no longer have this spirit. Its just that simple. and the Russian spirit is simply invincible. Study the Russian history carefully. And you will understand that the Russians never wanted War. The Russians don't attack the Russians really do end wars Soldier 2: Unfortunately I think we are losing the information War but we will win the real war but we will alwaus win the real war. Soldier 1:I hope they come to their senses At least some of them Or in these fields in new cities they will simply find their death. For the blasphemy and the fascist lawlessness We will punish you harshly. Sean: The fighting very close family friends almost Ukrainian Russians are the same routes the same history their neighbours does that make it harder Solider 3: Of course it's tough. There’s a Russian speaking population here They are slavs just like us Solider 1:We could have just sat together with an accordion a bacaraka playing music and drinking vodka . Have a heart to heart talk. but they don’t want to. Sasha: Where are you going now Solider 3:Well, we can't reveal the details but we're going to work right now.You can see it from our appearance. Sasha: Can you say something Solider 4: I don't Do interviews ean: I can feel he's looking at me who the f*** is he. And he's right never trust journalists but I want I want Sasha : Thank you very much for meeting us and for the interesting interview Soldier 1: Let’s all go guys, lets go Sasha : Thank you very much for meeting us and for the interesting interview Sean: Thank you very much Soldier 2: Let’s go because we don’t have much time Solider 4: Thank you |
|
10:47:41 |
V/O |
My trip to Svatave confirmed the news reports at the time. The Russian army was clearly
in disarray. But the Russians were also quietly digging in- reinforcing their defensive lines. |
|
10:47:57 |
V/O |
As I left, I saw the convoys coming in - bringing with
them concrete blast walls and anti-tank barriers. The so-called
Surovkin line line - a 1000 Km- long defensive wall and
minefield that would help halt Ukraine’s offensive in the months ahead |
|
10:48:32 |
V/O |
On my way back to
Donetsk, we stopped off at a forward operating base in Kreminna. Sasha had arranged
for us to meet a unit of Russian soldiers camped out in the woods |
|
10:48:51 |
SYNC - SEAN, SASH, SOLDIERS |
Sean: Fighting here is quite intense? Soldier: Very intense. Very tense. Artillery tanks and shooting. All this being added to the artillery. We are not propagandists or politicians. We are ordinary people. We are soldiers now, but in the normal life we have civil jobs. Soldier: You always need to listen to both sides. There are two sides of the coin and the truth comes from the debate. One side says this and the other says that. Once you’ve listened to both sides you can make up your mind. This is very important.
Sean: Is there a little bit of hurt that the west doesn’t understand their side? Soldier: How can it not? The whole truth is here. So if the west will understand that the truth is not reality, they’ll be disappointed. Well, that’s what they want. I think they will be very disappointed because they have been helping them so much with equipment and weapons. People just don’t know the truth.
Soldier: Bon appetit Cook: And the kind heart of the cook, that’s all. Soldier: You look at family pictures, and you understand what you are fighting for. It gives you strength. On phone: “Daddy is here” Soldier: It makes it easier for us to carry on. Soldier: We also get letters from children, from orphanages and schools. Soldier: Children write very kind words to us. Soldier: It makes even the toughest soldier cry. Sean: So there going to be here for Christmas Soldier: A holiday is a holiday but combat missions are going away, they must be carried out Soldier: At the moment we only have one holiday - victory. We will wait for it. We are striving for it. |
|
10:51:26 |
SYNC - RUSSIAN SOLDIERS |
Solider 1: Roma I’ll bring your rifle no? Soldier 2: Of course Soldier 1: so that it’s clear who a sniper is. Let me bring it over. Optics “ Made in England” England. Sean: Ah. made in England Sniper: I’ve beenshot at a lot. They work with good American rifles. I don’t have an American rife, it’s our Soviet rifle. I do my job well. My task is to approach the enemy unnoticed reduce the distance and annihilate him. Sean: What’s it like? Russian and Ukraine are neighbours, they are family. It’s history. Does that make it harder. Sniper: Yes yes, yes, yes My wife is from Ukraine - Dnepropestrovsk. All relatives there, they went to Poland. Now they are back, they are all fighting in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Sean: Does she have children? Sniper: A Daughter. Our relatives in Ukraine stopped talking to her..even stopped sending photos. Well, I understand it's probably because of me. Announcement: Everyone stand by your tents! Soldier: Ok brother, it looks like I’m not going back home to my mother. Commanding soldier addressing group: Our training starts at 9am. Soldier: Step out and introduce yourself to the commander. Commander: How old are you? Soldier: 24 Commander: You don’t look 24. Where did you serve before? Soldier: nowhere Commander: Go back in line. I can see you’ve never been in the army. |
|
10:53:06 |
V/O |
As the new recruits were welcomed to the unit, I looked at the faces
of the young men I’d met. They hadn’t been drafted - these men were volunteers from across
Russia and the former Soviet republics. |
|
10:53:13 |
V/O |
Their next
deployment would be south to AVDEE-IFKA on the eastern front -which has seen
some of the highest casualties of the war |
|
10:53:47 |
V/O |
When I got back to Donetsk, I met up with Yulia and we went for a
walk in the park.
|
|
10:53:54 |
SYNC - SEAN SASHA AND YULLIA |
Yulia: I used to perform on this stage when I danced. Dance Dance. Sean: You were dancing? On this stage? Performing or just partying? Sasha: Performing. It was like a… Sean: Oh Yulia: It was concert Sean: Yeah, you can talk. Yulia: It was 2013 - right before the war. And I miss you. This is when everything was cool. I miss all that stuff… all this Yulia: In 2011, Rihanna and Beyonce came. They didn’t come to Kiev or to Kharkhiv or to Lviv. They came to Donetsk. The arena was lit up and there was a lot of people. A lot of foreigners, all happy, shone at the Donbas arena. I was a little girl back then. I was so proud to live in Donetsk, which is such a great city. And now, in contrast, it’s just horrible. Yulia; All in
all, life is sad. We’ve been deprived of all of this. You’ve really found a
sore spot. |
|
10:55:08 |
V/O |
We drove Yulia back
to her home on the front line |
|
10:55:12 |
SYNC - SEAN, YULLIA |
Sean: I didn’t realise how close you are but this is the frontline.. Yulia: I was on a walk with my friend and she almost stepped on a mine trap. Her leg was super close to it. If she’d made one more step that would be it. Sean: Was that incoming Sasha? Sasha: Yulia heard it better . She said ti’s outgoing Yulia: If the sound is hollow and quiet, it means that there will be an arrival in 3-4 seconds. If the sound is loud and you can hear something as if the air is cutting through something, it means that hte strike is outgoing. Oh and one more. This one was more like an incoming strike somewhere far. So, it’s ok. BOOM BOOM Yulia: Outcome outcome. That’s good. Nevermind
Sean: Do you jump when you hear? Do you go. Yulia: No I don’t jump - maybe seldom. Slow seldom and when it’s so close to me and sounds so loud and the vibration. I can stand normal. Sean: Have you had a few times when you thought you might die? Yulia: I just
think I really value every day right now. I can understand that any day can
be my last - not because I am a
pessimist of I want to die. No I don’t wanna die. I want to live and
everything else. But I understand that life is unpredictable, a fate, destiny
and whatever you like to call it and something like that. |
|
10:56:56 |
V/O |
When I first
arrived in Donetsk it felt like a city on the frontline. |
|
10:57:02 |
SYNC - SASHA |
Sasha: We can see where the shell landed. |
|
10:57:06 |
V/O |
Now it felt like a
city under siege. |
|
10:57:15 |
SYNC - SEAN |
Sean: His phone is ringing -
someone is trying to call him. |
|
10:57:45 |
V/O |
A well-known
pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger agreed to take us to the very edge of
the city so we could see the Ukrainian frontlines. |
|
10:58:00 |
SYNC - SEAN, BLOGGER |
Sean: Where are we heading?
Sasha: This is a famous place. From that building there were correcting fire on airport and controlling the battle. Soldier: Don’t go out on the other side, because there are observers. Observers look through a thermal imager. That is why it is only better from this side. Watch something, shoot something. Because if they see equipment, they can go there with a tank. Shoot. We will only hear it when the artillery hits. Sean: Don’t like hanging around that window. Blogger: We’re not monster, We’re humans . We defend our people. We, here in our motherland. We don’t want to build a new USSR it is impossible. But historical justice we came to do. It’s our artillery, don’t be afraid. Sean: What would you accept as compromise? Blogger: We’re going back to Kyiv. We’re going to have to go a second time, We’re going back to Kyiv not to capture it, but for either this government in Kyiv to be arrested and brought to trial for all the crimes they committed. But on this territory in Ukraine, we will create a new state, and our allied part has already, in general, included the Russian speaking regions of Donbas and Novorossia. And it will become part of Russia and another state. Ukraine will simply be friendly to us, allied and so on. Sean: You said something there that I find disturbing. If Kyiv is friendly to you you will give them freedom. Blogger: We want to To return. End of. And when and when we kill the last Nazi. When Kyiv government of nazis will be broken and new government be friendly for us we say it’s ok. |
|
11:01:04 |
V/O |
As I listened to the Russian bloggers sermon on the stairwell, I
found his views deeply disturbing and extreme. But they echoed the words of
President Putin who denied Ukraine even had a right to exist, before he
launched the full scale invasion. |
|
11:01:22 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sasha: It’s a plane? Sasha: Looks like our bomb. |
|
11:01:39 |
V/O |
We were now walking along the exposed side of the building. The Ukrainian positions were less than 2 km away, and I was worried about the snipers. |
|
11:01:49 |
SYNC: SEAN AND SASHA |
Sean: We could get shot walking through there Sasha. Sasha: Say hello to the Ukrainian forces. Sean: Where? Through there? We’re going to get shot doing this. Sasha: Outgoing from that side. Multiple launch Sean: Is that Russian’s in that airport? No one is going to shoot me? Sasha: Behind the airport the opposition. |
|
11:02:39 |
V/O |
This is where the war escalated in 2014 in Donetsk, when the
separatists seized the airport and the Ukrainian army was sent in. Ten years
later the frontlines haven’t changed |
|
11:02:54 DONETSK – SNOW
SCENES |
V/O |
As the winter months dragged on, the fighting on the eastern front ground to a stalemate. But Russia continued to attack Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine. |
|
11:03:14 END OF ACT 2 |
CARD - UKRAINE’S WAR THE OTHER SIDE |
|
|
11:04:00 ACT 3
|
CARD - UKRAINE’S WAR THE OTHER SIDE |
|
|
11:04:06 |
ASTON - MARCH 2023 3 MONTHS LATER |
|
|
11:04:06 |
V/P |
I had gone home for Christmas and had
to apply for a new visa. After three months the Foreign Ministry finally
agreed to let me back in. |
|
11:04:16 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sean: When we first came here last year there weren’t all these trenches all around. The digging in. Fortfiythem. A lot more soldiers..More tanks APCs. Sasha: So there’s couple lines of defense before here, So this is we can say the third line the they are building. I hope they’ll not use it. Sasha: I hear some incoming, not too far but I can’t get where it is. I will listen more careful now so Sean actuality; We were about to call it a day when we heard reports that there had been Ukrainian shelling civilian area near the airport Sean It’s like a ghost town round here , This bit |
|
11:05:06 |
ASTON - DONETSK SUNURN |
|
|
11:05:08 |
|
Sasha: this is a protectead place, Okay good hit Sean: also I have got a feel we should be wearing a flak jacket now. Sasha: yeah you put it on Sean. Yeah Sean: We are putting on our flak jackets on there a woman across the road, walking her dog Sean: Is she OK to be walking her dog Sasha?
Lady walking dog: You can hear where they hit, they are far away.
Sasha: She said she can hear them landing
Sasha: This is far away, it just flew over us.
Sean: No no it’s rockets, it’s firing over us
Sasha: It’s a mortar
Sean: I saw the flames
Woman: Close but…
BOOM BOOM
Sean: Sasha, I think we should come over, I can see the flame coming from her.
Lady: Dogs aren’t scared
Sean: Does she want to borrow our helmet?
Lady: Oh don’t be silly
Sasha: He’s joking Sean: I wasn’t joking Sean: Whats your name, my name is Sean Lady: My name is Alla Sean: does she feel safe here? Sasha: Do you feel safe right now?
Lady: Here? Not here. Not here
Lady: We’ll probably go. Spaseeba
Sean: Bye Bye Dosvidanya Sasha: It was closet you have got, I guess here, Yeah Sean Yeah Sasha : It is too risky to to go there, if we now trying to find the place where they were shooting, it’ll be possibley we’ll like be there and fight much more crazy it’ll will be Sean: You know I want to say this, we don’t need to go looking for the fucking war Sasha: we don’t want to go there, you agree with me , there is a window shacking |
|
11:07:55 |
SYNC - SEAN SASHA BABUSHKA |
Babushka: Hello little bunnie, God be with you
Babushka: Oh he helps, you know it’s like this so I sit and think. I’m 72years old and I am getting shells dropped on my head. What is this? What kind of ridiculous war is this? 9 years it’s been going on.
Babushka: So Zelensky, don’t play wise with America. Don’t make us angry. We;re not going to live with you anymore. Russia is closest to us and we will lay down our lives for it.
Sean: Do you mind if I smoke?
Babushka: WHAAAAAAAAA Oh and I was cursing, Bunny, so you are not Russian? Where are you from? Sean: I’m English - British Bubuska: where are you from Sean: London
Babushka: Listen, my golden one, , we all need to be friends Why do we need a war? I don’t care who you are - Tartar or Mongolian. We are people, we must live, be friends and find some sort of compromise. Why did they start this war?
Sasha: He was worried about the hits which were coming in close.
Babushka: I am not scared. I’m strong. I’m strong. I can’t sleep when they don’t shoot. The silence annoys me. Sean: I think this woman is shell shocked, they come out? Yes, We are still under shells
Babushka: can
you see here what is being done? Two people are here, on the third and first floor.
Sasha: Where do the houses end and where are the trenches?
Babushka: It’s two kilometers… It’s only 2 km. Where we have troops, I can take you but I shouldn’t. There are a lot of them out there now and it’s getting dark…we could.
Sasha: Too much mines there. It’s getting darker. She can bring us to frontline she said.
Babushka: There are no lights. This was hka: The lights went out. There are no lights. This was bombed bombed. The hits came when there was no light.
Sasha: They destroyed…
Babushka: But I can still invite you over. It’s still light enough. It’s still light in the room. Let’s go, go, let’s go. Don’t fall over. I know my way around. Sean: Hello
Babushka: Everything was broken, the beautiful pictures were broken.
Sean: Oh it’s beautiful.
Babushka: Jesus, so what, I believe in God.
Sean: It’s quite close to the window - that fire.
Babushka: Sean, come in.
Babushka: And I can’t live without coffee.
Sean: Spaseeba
Babushka: Here, I have gas for you. This is my little pot. I’m going to make this for you. Babushka: Who could that be? Hello?
Babushka: Hello, what can I do, I don’t have time. I have correspondents here with me. I’ll speak later. I have someone here from London. So no time to chat. Bye.
Babushka: She is a neighbour from downstairs.
Sean: Wow this is very Russian
Sasha: It’s her grandchildren now here.
Sean: But you know what Sasha on the other side it was quite intense.
Sasha: this side is safe. So you can relax a little bit. Sean: Oh lovely. Nice coffee.
BANGS
Sean: I think we need to go now.
Babushka: You should’t drive now. It’s late. There is shelling, you could come under fire. You don’t have to go anywhere. You shouldn’t go outside so late. I won’t let you go.
Sean: Sasha there is shellfire.
Sean: We’re a sitting target here. Sean : Bye bye
Sean: I didn’t like standing there. It felt very open that little bit Sasha: Sitting target Sean: Yeah |
|
11:13:08 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sean: I am going to miss this place..
Sasha: You will come back there is no more interesting place in the world.
Sean: I’ve got 12 days left and I would rather not go to the frontlines but at the same time I feel I have to..
Sasha: You spend a lot of time and you spend a lot of energy to do this film so I want it to be better so more people can watch it. I want to risk more and show you some more frontline stuff. It will be interesting |
|
11:13:43 |
V/O |
Sasha had organised an embed
with combat medics near the frontline to the north of AVDEE-IFKA We were now finally heading to an area that President
Zelensky described as hell on earth - a fitting place for my journeys end, |
|
11:14:13 |
V/O |
I am The driver’s
choice - AC/DC’s Highway to Hell seemed pretty apt. |
|
11:14:43 |
V/O |
We arrived in the
frontline village just as casualties were coming in |
|
11:15:34 |
SYNC - SEAN AND DOCTOR |
Solider/ Medic: Hold his leg Sean: are you the medic? Doctor: Yes, I am a doctor from Novosibirsk. From Chikalevska hospital the doctor from Nuezic … Hospital Doctor This is our workspace, a surgical table, where we perform minor operations, stop bleeding, open hematomas, inflamation Sean: This is where you live and work. Doctor: Yes, this is where we work Sean: This is your operating theatre and this is your kitchen. Medic: We can sterilise everything here. And this is where we live. And we put the picture of the commander in chief here because we are proud of him. Sasha: This is now operation of surrounding Avdviika. Sean: The Russians have made somewhat of an advance. Sasha: Here they took Sherwood - a famous position Ukrainians held for a long time called Sherwood Forest. Sean: Really? Sasha: It’s for a joke, but it’s the real name of the position. They took it and they took the village next to it. Sean:So what does the medic want to do Sasha: So he wants to go to evacuation spot. He want’s to show u - Yeah This is like the hard frontline. Sean: Okay Sasha: Battles are raging now and the best place to be really possible to get is the evacuation spot for the medics. But he also contacted his commander now. Doctor: ON PHONE : We have Sean’s film crew here and they would like to come close to the front line. I spoke to the commander and he resolutely said that there positions are dangerous but perhaps we could take him to Novosyolovka? Sasha: We can stay here for the night and there’s a possibility we can do things. Sean: Doctor, you live here in the village. You stay here all the time Doctor: We have been, living almost here, its so intense Sean: Sasha, I say, I didn’t know how all these people live here - it’s so intense Doctor: I don’t know how all these people live here .. to much stress Sean: devastation in this village, almost every house is destroyed Doctor: This is a church that is very old. Sean: There is something really disturbing. Seeing destruction of these shells. Church, it’s Easter Sunday here tomorrow. Doctor: You see what a magnificent building it is? Sean: Drone overhead they are trying to shoot down. Sean: I am surprised this has taken – I didn’t this this would affect me so much. I didn’t think I would find a church in this middle of this village. Doctor: I cam see you are crying. I understand perfectly. You feel the destructive power of war. When war starts it destroys everything. Doctor: You know, this war is unusual. Although I believe that Ukrainians are not our enemies, they are simply our brothers. Something temporarily made them crazy. Hatred for people, hatred for Russians. A deep desire to destroy them and burn them. I think this is a temporary blur for our Ukrainian brothers. |
|
11:21:15 |
V/O |
I really liked the medic but when he spoke about his Ukrainian
brothers he was repeating a well-known Russian propaganda line that
Ukrainians are just little Russians |
|
11:21:26 |
SYNC - DOCTOR |
I consider Ukraine my second homeland and I could not be comfortable with the fact that the land we are friends with are being trampled on by Nazis and killing people. |
|
11:21:45 |
V/O |
I travelled to
Russian occupied Ukraine to try and understand the other side. But as I came
towards the end of my journey I realised I had reached that point where I
could no longer empathise. The medic may have believed he was in Ukraine defending the Russian motherland - but I couldn’t help feeling the real reason Putin invaded was to stop Ukraine from leaving Moscow’s orbit. |
|
11:22:08 |
SYNC - SEAN AND DOCTOR |
Doctor: First of all, why did Russia launch this special military operation? Putin has repeatedly said, if a fight is inevitable, hit first. Sean: I mean, i just let you know when we see it in Europe the way the Russian artillery which we always did in history but when the Russian artillery and rockets bomb places, it is quite its quite brutal. Sean:You know when we were talking to the soldiers they told me they’ve been attacking those woods the same forest for the last six months, I don’t know how many men have been wounded or killed for these Doctor: How many people died in this forest? Very many. Because several units have been attacking this forest for months. Doctor:But sometimes this little forest is essential to show courage We broke the will. We won. For example there are some key points. During the Great Patriotic War there was Stalingrad for example, Battle of Moscow. Apparently here - Sherwood Forest, Bakhmut Sean: Bakhmut looks like Stalingrad Doctor : ya. These are key
points. If we can break them, we’ll win and I’m sure we will win |
|
11:23:43 |
V/O |
The operation was
timed for four 30 in the morning and they were expecting a lot of casualties. |
|
11:23:52 |
V/O |
Later that night, I
watched the Russian Drone footage from their previous assault on Sherwood
Forest.We were heading up to the same
location |
|
11:24:10 |
V/O |
And as I watched the armoured vehicles advance across the
fields, I began to feel a sense of looming dread. |
|
11:24:26 |
SYNC - SEAN |
Sean: the sounds here are so much more terrifying than the sounds I heard in Donetsk, which is only 15 kilometers away, I’m now right on the front line |
|
11:25:03 |
ASTON - EASTER SUNDAY, 2023 |
|
|
11:25:10 |
SYNC - SEAN AND SASHA |
Sasha : So One of the teams going in to change another which will go out. Sean: So we are going in with this team .. Sasah: Christ is risen
Sean: Happy Easter Sasha |
|
11:26:36 |
V/O |
They told me it would be safe, but we hadn’t even reached Sherwood
Forest and we immediately came under
attack |
|
11:26:49 |
V/O |
Solider: Come on open the tent and get in. Sean: So Sasha what happened Sasha: when we came a mortar shell started. So we will wait here and see the situation. This trench was captured 5 days ago from the Ukrainian forces. Soldier: We were walking voer tight now, when we were waiting for you When it was flying over we were all ducking even though it was going that way. Soldier: the drones fly around carrying grenades. They drop grenades very accurately. They can drop it 15-20 cm from your leg. Soldier: Is outgoing? Soldier: Definitely Soldier: They tried to enter here yesterday or the day before. They really want to come in? Sean: It’s a tough territory, its at a great cost and sacrifice just to get a few kilometers Medic: Here at the Sherwood Forest it was six months. Well do you know how much? If 500, 600 people, maybe 1000 of 2000 bodies How have been dragged out of here in six months. And that’s only Russians. Soldier; Has the shelling stopped? Soldier: Let’s finish the coffee and lets go, of course. Soldier: Drink your coffee Soldier: Alright, lets go Sasha: Lets go - three by three Soldier: Don’t leave the path Sean: There are mines all over this forest. Soldier: Stop Stop Sasha: helicopter Sasha: It’s a Ukrainian helicopter - very dangerous. Sean: there are mines in this field. Soldier: See, it’s her from the video we’ve shown you yesterday. That’s the engine Soldier: Stay here, we will check the road ahead. Soldier: Be careful Soldier: This will take you leg and everything that goes with it Sasha: It’s a grenade, it’’s not exploded. Sasha: Fox hole Sean: Fox holes Sasha: see rockets there Sean: Following in the wake of carnage all these blown up exploded APCs …..they were blown up by mines and they had incoming RPGs. So these field just here in the last two days has seen a lot of carnage and death Sasha: A lot of unexploded shit here be very carful. This is the position the Ukrainians had held for 6 months. This line, we’re now crossing it. Medic: This is Sherwood Forest. It’s ours now. Sean: Nice forest - tree stumps. |
|
11:31:56 |
V/O |
As I followed in
the footsteps of the soldiers, the sunlight flickering through the tree
stumps conjured up images from wars past |
|
11:32:06 |
V/O |
History was
repeating itself both as tragedy and farce in the same fields where millions
of soldiers had been killed in World War 2. Putin has cast this
war as a rerun of the Great Patriotic War but now Russia is the aggressor.
And the invader |
|
11:32:28 |
SYNC - SOLDIER |
Solider: look here. Sasha: Ut could be a trap Sean: Yeah yeah, no one leaves their kit do they Sean: what are they looking for Sean: its a Ukrianin body Medic: It’s a fresh body Soldier: we will be dealing with this now. Move move move Sasha: They will deal with the body later but first they will check if there are explosions Sean: There is a dead soldier there - Ukrainian and they are worried if he’s booby trapped so they are going to pull his body off to see using a rope. Soldier: Is it a safe distance
from the road? Move away from teh road. Sasha: they already checked him. Sean: fucking hell Sean: How far away are the Ukrainians? Sasha: Maybe around a
kilometre |
|
11:33:24 |
V/O |
I thought I’d find some answers in the forest but all I found was more death and destruction |
|
11:33:33 |
SYNC - SEAN, SOLDIER |
Soldier: Distance Sean: distance okay PTC: This is another new disturbing here for me is walking through these woods with these tree stumps, twisted wood metal dead bodies Oh my God, it’s like when Zelensky said this is hell on earth. Which, What the Russian bombardment looks like. Sean: Lots of booby traps her, Sasha mines yeah Sean: ground is littered with shells, spent shells. Unexploded. |
|
11:34:31 |
V/O |
We had reached the edge of the forest. It had
taken the Russians six months and thousands of men to get this far |
|
11:34:40 |
SYNC - SOLDIERS |
Soldier 1 - Christ has risen, guys. Soldier 2: Truly risen |
|
11:34:43 |
V/O |
This log was their most forward position and the end of my journey.
There was nothing more to see. Just more fields stretching out across the vast plains of Ukraine. |
|
11:35:02 |
SYNC - SEAN, SOLIDER |
Sean: A lot of men have given their lives to take these woods, haven’t they? Soldier: Many did. For their forest Sean: Do they feel that the world, that the west doesn't understand them? Soldier: Of course. If they did this would have been over long ago. Soldier: Maybe all of Europe believes that it’s all incomprehensible. Soldier: We’re invaders? we’re not invaders - we’re just protecting what is ours. Why did they put all their weapons all over Europe and we are told not to put them in Belarus. So you can do it and we can’t? Soldier: It’s fine, it is flying, so what? Soldier 2: How are people in America? Protesting or supporting? Sean: they are supporting Ukraine, but I didn’t understand until I can here how complicated it is. People in Donbas saying this is my country and Ukrainians saying Soldier 3: There’s incoming, it’s not worth risking our lives. Soldier 4: In general, I suggest moving in that direction Sasha: we do not risk it Sean Yeah yeah Soldier: Get down, that’s it, he’s leaving. Sean: the fighting is getting
too intense .. so we are withdrawing |
|
11:37:36 |
V/O |
Last year, the headlines were all about Ukraine
winning and the West ramped up its military support. |
|
11:37:44 |
V/O |
Now they’re about
stalemate, some in the West are
talking of cutting support . |
|
11:37:53 |
V/O |
Russia may still feel it can win. But what would victory look like? The Eastern Front is reduced to rubble and many towns now resemble Stalingrad. Putin has failed to bring Kviv to heel and the invasion has only
strengthened Ukraine’s sense of national identity. I met a lot of good men fighting on the frontlines. But in years to
come, I couldn’t help wondering how
many would still believe in the cause. |