‘I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow’: The Ukrainians battling to take back Bakhmut
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Transcript
00:00 The Ukrainian army has asked us to keep the precise location secret but we're on the flanks
00:05 of Bakhmut, well within reach of Russian rockets.
00:12 This is high ground overlooking the devastated city where fighters from the 57th brigade
00:17 have been mounting counter-attacks, gaining back four square kilometres of land in the
00:21 past ten days.
00:24 But the mood is hardly triumphant.
00:26 "We didn't give them a chance to do this. We were conducting a counter-attack. We took their positions.
00:33 When we returned, they were firing back. Many of our vehicles. This is where they are
00:40 greeting us. " "Can you return Bakhmut from the city?" "I can't say that. I don't know.
00:47 I'll find out tomorrow if I return Bakhmut."
01:09 Fierce battle is still raging here.
01:16 Three of the brigade's armoured vehicles were taken out by Russian strikes in two days.
01:22 These men were previously holed up inside Bakhmut but now their objectives changed - to
01:27 take ground around the city, to blast Russian positions inside.
01:32 "We accomplished our mission in Bakhmut. We concentrated our enemy's firepower on our
01:38 troops. So is it going to be harder now for us? Yes, but we're not going to give up. We're
01:45 now destroying the enemy's artillery and destroying their battle formations and their
01:49 infantry."
01:50 "We'll hold the line as much as we can and try to attack. Bakhmut will become like a
01:59 bone stuck in their throat."
02:11 Both sides are flying attack and reconnaissance drones, eyes in the sky, watching every movement
02:16 of their enemy's position. Hunkered down underground, these men work shifts in front of giant screens,
02:25 looking for any weaknesses to exploit.
02:27 "We need our drones to spot anti-tank guided missiles because if we can get rid of them,
02:38 we can transport our infantry towards their trenches."
02:43 These Ukrainian soldiers on the outskirts of Bakhmut say they've taken back some highly
02:50 strategically important ground and they hope from these vantage points they'll be able
02:56 to try and press on and take some of that territory back.
03:00 But capitalising on recent gains is set to be tough. Incoming fire intensifies, we seize
03:07 a window to leave. The soldiers of the 57th Brigade once again sheltering under a hail
03:14 of bombs.