Volunteers

Director: Anton Tsyalezhnikau Year: 2015

Through binoculars they see the ruins of Donetsk Airport. When Russian-backed militants destroyed it and Ukraine’s troops were forced to leave the ruins – they became the first line of defense between Ukraine and the pro-Russian People’s Republic of Donetsk.Separatists fear and hate them. These people do not belong to the official arms forces, they are not paid, the state does not arm them up. During the first attacks they had only knives. The fighters are united by the struggle for a free Ukraine.

The film features Ukrainian volunteer soldiers from the corps Rights Sector: all very different people, mostly Russian-speaking and far removed from politics, some of whom are Belarusians. For a month the author of the film worked under fire on the front lines to show the defenders of the village Pisky near Donetsk airport.