two narratives of this war are being written. two testimonies. in the north eastern 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 may the 2nd last year, izyum was under russian control. but ukrainian forces were hitting back with heavy artillery. 0ne russian conscript, on the phone to a friend, doesn t want to fight. translation: we re
tonight at ten. we re live in ukraine on the eve of the first anniversary of russia s invasion. as the grim milestone nears, the un once again condemns russian aggression. russia must immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its forces from the territory of ukraine. if russia stops fighting, this war ends. if ukraine stops fighting, ukraine ends. we travel to north eastern ukraine and hear personal testimonies of the misery of war. translation: this has been the scariest year of my life. l so little joy and laughter,
dad, abdul aziz. he was one of the civilians killed by israeli forces in yesterday s raid. ilyas is an emergency ward nurse and found his own father among the dead. translation: i was working the morning shift when - there was a code blue and the injured brought in. i opened the curtain to see my father s body. i couldn t believe it. i was in a state of shock. i was waiting for someone to tell me it was a dream. his father was outside the mosque here when israeli forces injeeps fired. feraz filmed it on his phone. he told me he saw stone throwers. there were no fighters here, just unarmed people. the soldiers shot without mercy, he says. the israeli army said it was examining the case.
it s always painful. it s really tough. two months later, onjuly the 22nd, the fighting for izyum is intense. the russian hold on the city is precarious, and one soldier calls home to his wife. translation: how are things going? translation: yesterday, they hit us pretty bad. - translation: and what about leave? translation: ifi go home, i m not coming back. - there were a0 men left in our unit, now only 20. translation: and there is no end? dear lord. 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.
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. translation: this has been the scariest year of my life. l so little joy and laughter. so much fear, pain and tears. and what do you think or hope you will be writing in your diary this time next year? translation: i hope i will write that we won this war long - ago, and we have peace. it a hope shared by millions. that as the ice covering the city melts, another year of war won t pass before