in the trenches, with the fighters of Rubizhne

A team from France Télévisions was able to accompany Ukrainian soldiers to Roubizhne (Ukraine), near the front line and a farm overlooking the plain. The trench, dug in barely three days, is not yet deep enough. “When it falls, we have to be able to hide at the bottom, and be protected”, explains a soldier. The shovels are punctuated by artillery fire. “We are all afraid, it’s human. But it keeps us alive”said another.

A soldier returns from a reconnaissance mission: he spotted mines, but saw no Russian soldiers. Among the fighters, a father and a 21-year-old son came together. “It reassures me, to know it with me”, says the father. The position of the Russians has not yet been spotted, but shots suggest that the Ukrainian artillery is near the farm, and that the response should arrive quickly. The meal break is done in silence. The soldiers believe that the face to face will take place in a few days.