and caught in the middle are civilians, like lyubov. down here? yes. to escape the fighting, she was hiding in a damp and dark cellar. translation: july 22nd, 2022. apparently, two people were killed. i m frightened again. just when i was thinking about leaving. i can t make up my mind what s right or best. out of the darkness came light. on the 6th of september, these ukrainian troops entered the city. this senior lieutenant, nicknamed kubrat, tells me when they reached izyum
these ukrainian troops entered the city. this senior lieutenant, nicknamed kubrat, tells me when they reached izyum there wasn t much resistance, but everything was mined, the entire city. a warehouse blew up. and what of the russians? trying to retreat. and that s here in izyum? some were captured, here on the ground, with their hands tied. others made it out and one man calls home. writing down her thoughts was the only way lyubov could cope with the trauma of her city s occupation. and your final diary entry is for the day before the russians leave.
in the northeastern city of izyum, those histories have merged, as we piece together transcripts from russian soldiers calling home and the diary of one ukrainian woman. witnesses to the madness. what you ll hear and see are the voices and words of both sides responding to the same events, to get a hint of the carnage and waste of one year of war. on the 2nd of may last year, izyum was under russian control. but ukrainian forces were hitting back with heavy artillery. one russian conscript, on the phone to a friend, doesn t want to fight. on the same day, lyubov writes a new entry in her diary.