[Dadali] In 2014, my village was shelled
I took a mic, 2 speakers, an audio mixer...
[Dadali] I want it all to end now
[Dadali] I entertain the hope that, by doing this, I'll make the war go faster
and bring our victory closer
CLOSER TO VICTORY
[GEO] Dmitry Donskoy Battalion Base, DPR
[Callsign 'Paladin', Soldier, Dmitry Donskoy Battalion]
['Paladin'] You feel at home here, like you're part of a team
['Paladin'] You feel more at ease here
['Paladin'] I serve in the Orthodox Dmitry Donskoy Battalion
['Paladin'] Now, as a soldier
['Paladin'] I used to walk around here in a cassock, and now I'm in camo
['Paladin'] When you're in military fatigues, at least the hems don't get dirty
['Paladin'] My name is Ivan, callsign 'Paladin'
['Paladin'] I came to join the Dmitry Donskoy Battalion from Moscow Region
['Paladin'] It's my 2nd time here, 1st time I came as a military chaplain
['Paladin'] I felt this urge, and I followed my heart
['Paladin'] I knew I had to be here to help our soldiers somehow
['Scythian'] Form a single line...
in front of me, like that
[GEO] Dmitry Donskoy Training Ground, DPR
[Callsign 'Scythian', Deputy Commander, 7th Company, Separate Rifle Battalion]
['Scythian'] A proper Olympic team, but what sport?
['Scythian'] You all remember how to carry your guns and what to do on 'Engage!'?
['Scythian'] I can't hear you [Soldiers] Yes, sir!
['Scythian'] When you hear 'Engage!',
prepare weapons for combat and assume firing position
['Scythian'] Ready?
[Soldiers] Yes, sir! ['Scythian'] Engage!
['Scythian'] As you were! Good lads. OK now... For inspection, port arms!
['Paladin'] We got on very well with the guys, we even became friends
['Paladin'] And they kept telling me: 'Come join us!
['Paladin'] You can help us as a soldier'
['Paladin'] And this idea stuck with me: to come here as a serviceman
['Scythian'] 2 steps back, empty the mag
['Scythian'] Inspected
['Scythian'] My mistake, he's new
['Scythian'] I didn't warn him the mag had to be empty
['Scythian'] Everybody have 2 empty mags?
[Soldiers] Yes, sir!
[Cameraman] What are you doing? ['Paladin'] Unloading the mag
['Paladin'] The order was to have empty magazines
['Paladin'] I'm not from this unit, so I wasn't told
['Paladin'] Having deep conversations
and getting closer to a person's soul and emotions is hard
because a priest comes as a stranger
who hasn't been through all the wartime hardships they have
['Paladin'] And I thought that, if I was here,
['Paladin'] I'd have a better chance to be of help
['Scythian'] Never point a gun at anyone!
['Scythian'] Ever! Only at the enemy or the ground
['Scythian'] Chekhov said: 'A gun on the wall will fire sooner or later'
['Scythian'] Now, look...
['Scythian'] This is the gun's carrying position
['Scythian'] When you hear 'Engage!'
crouch down, stick out your butt, and raise the gun
['Scythian'] But, in the process, while you're standing, do this...
['Scythian'] That's it, the gun's ready
['Scythian'] Lads, be careful!
['Scythian'] To be killed by your own comrade would be quite a pity
['Scythian'] Especially, in combat, when you're trying not to be killed by the Ukies
['Paladin'] Although I'm a priest, I'm not practicing right now
['Paladin'] Other priests come in sufficient numbers,
and I assist them here
['Scythian'] Move, move!
['Scythian'] Fire!
[Soldier 1] Out of ammo! [Soldier 2] Holding!
['Scythian'] Veterans understand why we do this, but newcomers don't
['Scythian'] Those who've been caught in rough situations know
your life depends on these little things
['Scythian'] Grenade! - Grenade!
The kid is dead!
['Paladin'] It was different, unusual...
['Paladin'] This was my first training like this,
when there were a lot of...
['Paladin'] When there were a lot of important instructions,
and, if you don't execute them,
of course, you make a lot of mistakes and...
['Paladin'] So, it's not easy
['Paladin'] I probably won't need it...
but anything can happen
['Paladin'] You must be prepared, so you're not a burden,
but someone who can cover his comrades' backs,
and who they can fully count on
['Paladin'] That's why you have to train
['Paladin'] You have to...
be diligent in all you do
['Scythian'] Contact, front! [Soldiers] Contact, front!
[Commander] Move, move, move! Down!
[Commander]Contact, right!
['Scythian'] Fellas, scatter a bit! Don't just crouch where you are
[Voice] Contact, front! [Soldiers] Contact, front!
['Scythian'] 'Paladin', look... You were running and crouched here
['Scythian'] But you didn't use the mound for cover
['Scythian'] You climbed on it ['Paladin'] Got it
['Scythian'] You've got to use the landscape as protection
['Paladin'] Got it ['Scythian'] Maybe a tree
['Scythian'] You've got a mound to get behind ['Paladin'] Thanks
['Paladin'] There have always been wars
['Paladin'] And we are...
the tool that will stop...
as I see and believe...
evil from spreading on this land
['Paladin'] If I have to use a weapon...
and, as a soldier, I'm required to carry a gun, by definition...
['Paladin'] If a situation like that arises, then, of course...
['Paladin'] I think I'll have to use it
['Paladin'] Then, the question of my status as a priest would be closed
['Paladin'] But I believe God is guiding me along his path for me
['Paladin'] I'm here by God's will
to put an end to the ruthless extermination of Donbass' people,
to these bombings, to these deaths...
['Paladin'] I'm here to defend the innocent people who need to be protected
[Soldiers] Grenade! Grenade!
[Callsign 'Paladin', Soldier, Dmitry Donskoy Battalion]
['Paladin'] I'm on a sabbatical from my ministry
['Paladin'] After the war, I can go back to it
['Paladin'] The only thing is that this is war, an armed conflict,
so I may have to...
['Paladin'] If I use a weapon, then, of course, this door will be closed
['Paladin'] Well, what will be is all God's will, only time will tell
[Aleksandr Dadali, Frontline Performer]
[Dadali] The first time I came under mortar fire,
I said the Lord's Prayer
sitting in a hole dug for hiding from mortar shells
[Dadali] The commandant shoved me down there and shielded me with his body
[Dadali] In war, there are no unbelievers, especially in the trenches
[Dadali] Hi guys! I'm Aleksandr Dadali, a frontline performer
[Dadali] I've been singing songs at the positions since 2014
[Dadali] I've come to you with a flash drive and a guitar,
and you've taken up arms
and gone into this terrible war to take down this evil
[GEO] Dmitry Donskoy Battalion Base, DPR
[Dadali] OK, let's begin
[Dadali] I wrote this song last year on the night of April 4 - 5, in the city of Donetsk
[Dadali] I'd been given a list of people to search for in Mariupol
[Dadali] And, from the horror I experienced... as a creative person
and also a very impressionable one…
[Dadali] I'd never seen anything so terrifying
[Dadali] The first courtyard I went to was on the Left Bank:
[Dadali] 18 bodies in plastic bags with tags showing
the flat numbers and surnames of the people wrapped in them,
and 3 graves
[Dadali] I asked why those 3 had been buried
[Dadali] They said they were children whose parents had buried them
[Dadali] But nobody buried the adults
[Dadali] And it was the same in every single courtyard
[Dadali] I was there for 3 days, then I came back
[Dadali] I usually write songs as if pregnant, it takes 7 to 9 months
[Dadali] But the Lord let me write this one in 40 minutes
[Dadali] It's called 'Mariupol, My City by the Sea'
LORD, SAVE AND PROTECT US
[Song] Mariupol lies in ruins by the sea,
[Song] Devoured by the wasted: my city
[Song] They could have stayed alive,
[Song] But, deciding to fight, they died
[Song] What did you try to prove to us?
[Song] Cities and people blown to dust
[Song] By legions of devils misbegotten:
[Song] Dirty 'heroes', now all forgotten!
[Dadali] I need a chevron for this concert
[Dadali] Thank you! Thank you, my friend
[Dadali] Our saint, Dmitry Donskoy
[Song] Smiles will be a fleeting rarity
[Song] Mum removes lice from her daughter
[Song] Cleans her wounds, gives her water
[Song] Mariupol lies in ruins by the sea
Thanks, cheers, all the best!
[GEO] Verkhnetoretskoe, DPR
['Grey-Haired'] These are our old positions
['Grey-Haired'] This was the demarcation line at that time
['Grey-Haired'] We're now driving...
into what was the grey zone
before the Special Military Operation began
[Callsign 'Grey-Haired', Battalion Commander, Evgeny Rodionov Unit]
['Grey-Haired'] My callsign is 'Grey-Haired'
['Grey-Haired'] I'm battalion commander of the Evgeny Rodionov Unit
['Grey-Haired'] Evgeny Rodionov was a soldier who fought in Chechnya
['Grey-Haired'] He was taken prisoner, and they insisted he remove his cross
['Grey-Haired'] He refused to take it off and was beheaded
['Grey-Haired'] A saint, I'd call him, and our unit bears his name
['Grey-Haired'] I've been through battles in Slavyansk...
Dokuchaevsk, Elenovka...
the Donetsk Airport
['Grey-Haired'] We've been watching this side for 8 years...
[Voice] through binoculars ['Grey-Haired'] Through binoculars
['Grey-Haired'] When we went in there, it was a bit wild
['Grey-Haired'] I've been at this since 2014
['Grey-Haired'] I was among the first defenders of our future Donetsk People's Republic
[Callsign 'Luck', Soldier, Evgeny Rodionov Unit]
['Luck'] These were enemy positions
['Luck'] Some kind of dugouts
['Luck'] They were lazy
['Luck'] We opposed these Maidans, with people jumping about like tinpot idiots
['Luck'] We didn't want a new government to come to power through a coup d'état
['Luck'] We opposed it, and they decided to strangle us like this
['Luck'] After the enemy was pushed from these trenches,
they went to those houses
['Luck'] They took up defensive positions...
and tried to hold the line
['Luck'] My callsign is 'Lucky'
['Luck'] I'm a native of Gorlovka. In 2014...
it all started for me...
with the militia. I went to war because...
right at the start, my hometown was bombed by planes
['Luck'] They fired at peaceful and unarmed civilians
['Luck'] My callsign was 'Rulya'
['Luck'] I got the callsign 'Lucky' after my first miraculous escape
['Luck'] I don't know what to call it. I was walking down a path with 3 comrades
['Luck'] The enemy spotted us with a drone and they decided to attack us
['Luck'] A mortar began to fire at us. A shell landed 2 metres from me
['Luck'] But no shrapnel hit me
['Luck'] The guys following me weren't injured either
['Luck'] After that, they named me, 'Lucky'!
['Luck'] It was right here, where they had...
their stronghold
['Luck'] The fight lasted 24 hours. They retreated and went to those houses
['Luck'] They started firing at us with small arms and RPGs
['Grey-Haired'] It's war
['Grey-Haired'] The enemy's in front. If they move my way, I'll kill them
['Grey-Haired'] If I advance, it's...
the same... We'll kill them
['Grey-Haired'] What they do is unheard of
['Grey-Haired'] They shoot indiscriminately at women, children, civilians...
['Grey-Haired'] They don't care
['Grey-Haired'] They think if civilians stayed here
and didn't go to Ukraine, they're...
enemies, separatists, or whatever they call us
['Luck'] People couldn't leave the basements. They were used as human shields
['Luck'] They pulled pregnant women and kids...
out of the basements
['Grey-Haired'] The Ukrainians know if they leave a populated settlement,
it won't be worth restoring
['Grey-Haired'] Verkhnetoretskoe's infrastructure is now non-existent
['Grey-Haired'] Folk still live here, it's awful
['Grey-Haired'] Living or surviving!
['Grey-Haired'] There's no power in Verkhnetoretskoe
['Grey-Haired'] Electricity is impossible to get because of the constant shelling
[Voice] The church is destroyed
['Luck'] They often shell here
['Grey-Haired'] Here's what's left of the church. A year ago it had domes
and was almost intact. It's a mess now
['Grey-Haired'] It was once a lovely big church
['Grey-Haired'] Every soldier is a believer at heart
['Grey-Haired'] In combat or defensive moves, with the enemy near,
everyone starts to believe
['Grey-Haired'] Everyone has their God
['Grey-Haired'] Every now and again, whenever possible...
a priest comes...
to conduct a service
The icons are all intact
['Grey-Haired'] Every soldier, everyone, has...
written in a little book up there...
their end
['Grey-Haired'] A person can screw in a light bulb, fall down and die...
or go through an entire war and survive
['Luck'] In war, we always ask for something. Firstly, from God
['Luck'] There's no one else to appeal to, only to God
['Luck'] We're all Orthodox people
They continue shelling this church
The domes were intact when we got here. The church was still whole
Now, you can see what happened. When the war ends, we'll restore it
['Luck'] The ultimate goal...
is to liberate our lands from...
the Nazi regime, so folk can live normal lives
['Luck'] I hope that when we get there,
they'll realise Russians aren't bad people
[GEO] Dmitry Donskoy Battalion Base, DPR
['Paladin'] This is our chapel, our prayer room
['Paladin'] We hold services here when the priest comes...
['Paladin'] When I came here...
['Paladin'] How do you combine the fulfilment of your military duty,
which involves killing others, and faith in God and the commandment:
['Paladin'] 'Thou shalt not kill'? We protect people
['Paladin'] We stand up for those who need protecting
['Paladin'] Of course, we don't just go and kill people
['Paladin'] We stand against armed enemies who come and want to kill us
['Paladin'] Therefore, it's not murder, but a confrontation that leads to death
['Paladin'] Here's my...
monk's cell... so to speak
['Paladin'] Here was...
where I stayed when I came as a military priest
['Paladin'] This is...
where I stay now, too
['Paladin'] Here's where I rest
['Paladin'] The heater...
['Paladin'] We use firewood to stay warm
['Paladin'] We also have 'pets' running round over there
['Paladin'] But there are fewer of them now, and we battle them
['Paladin'] Here's my workplace. You can also pray here
['Paladin'] There are some icons
['Paladin'] We've set everything up here in a Spartan fashion:
['Paladin'] The 'Image of Edessa' and '7-arrows' icon, also called 'Softening of Evil Hearts'
also called 'Softening of Evil Hearts'
['Paladin'] This icon probably speaks to every soldier here
['Paladin'] Despite...
all the bad things that happen to people in war...
['Paladin'] Well, it's called 'Hell on Earth'
['Paladin'] People become bitter about it
['Paladin'] The war will end, but evil thoughts and hatred remain inside them
['Paladin'] In war, faith is needed to remain human
and not lose the image of God, which we must nurture in ourselves
['Paladin'] Bulletproof vest... first aid kit...
helmet, gas mask... automatic rifle
[Radio] 'Paladin'! ['Paladin'] Copy
['Paladin'] Everyone fears death. Only madmen have no fear of it
['Paladin'] I believe in divine providence, that the Lord is leading me down this path
[Father Georgy] Hello! ['Paladin'] Father Georgy
[Father Georgy] Father Ivan ['Paladin'] A pleasure
['Paladin'] I thought a local priest would come, but all here are ours
[Father Georgy] I was told younger people are arriving
[Father Georgy] While we wait for the soldiers, let's walk and chat
['Paladin'] This way, right?
[Father Georgy, Priest, Synodal Military Department of the Moscow Patriarchate]
[Father Georgy] I'm from the Synodal Military Department
[Father Georgy] I'm from Moscow, 2nd year graduate, studying at Sergiev Posad. And you?
[Father Georgy] I graduated from Kolomenskoe ['Paladin'] Kolomenskoe
[Father Georgy] Can you give communion and hear confessions?
['Paladin'] I think, of course, that my situation is abnormal and extreme,
but I remain a priest
[Father Georgy] I have great respect for anyone who signs up
['Paladin'] Many men... most men serve in the army
['Paladin'] And some of them become priests
['Paladin'] It's not about taking up arms. The fundamental question is whether
you've shed blood or killed anyone
[Father Georgy] Will we give communion and hear confesssions?
['Paladin'] You have the sacred vessels? [Father Georgy] Yes
[Father Georgy] I'll ask if anyone wants this
[Father Georgy] Let's do it together
['Paladin'] As I'm the assistant here, I'll light it
['Paladin'] Will you sprinkle it? [Father Georgy] Yes, I'll do it
[Father Georgy] Thank the Lord...
[Father Georgy] I'll try and sing along with you
[Father Georgy] Guys, come in
[Father Georgy] Come on in
[Father Georgy] Greetings, comrades!
[Father Georgy] I'm Father Georgy, employed by the Military Department
of the Moscow Patriarchate
[Father Georgy] I'm always inspired by the words of our greatest commander...
[Father Georgy] Aleksandr Suvorov:
'Pray to God - any victory is down to him'
[Father Georgy] Let us pray now, short prayers
for the Russian Army's victory. OK?
[Father Georgy] Our victory
[Father Georgy] And perform a short requiem mass for the fallen soldiers
[Prayer] Blessed is our Lord God always, now and forever...
unto the ages of ages
[Prayer] Amen!
[Prayer] My granddad reached Berlin
['Grey-Haired'] I'm going too
['Grey-Haired'] And then we'll see...
['Grey-Haired'] We'll win, in any case
[Song] A storm swarmed upon the country:
[Song] Ancient cities razed and scorched
[Song] War came knocking with effrontery,
[Song] Spilling blood of civilians caught
[Song] Miners, steel men, students and all
[Song] Rose to the Fatherland's call
[Song] Dusting off the old battledress,
[Song] To the front as granddads before
[Song] Faces of saints who are blessed
[Song] Flutter high on the banners of war
[Song] The battalions rout the fascist foes
[Song] And Andrew the Apostle goes With Peresvet at his shoulder
[Song] Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy
[Song] Encircle the Nazi scum and destroy
[Song] Bogolyubsky, that valiant soldier,
[Song] Defeats the uninvited antagonist
[Song] The battalions dubbed after a list
[Song] Of holy warriors by church decree
[Song] And those who came here to fight us Have learnt nothing from history