I’ve been visiting the Donbas since January 2023 and this trip was different. The front line is shifting faster than at any point in the last two years. In November, Russia took more ground in Ukraine than at any time since 2022, so I went back to see what was really happening.

Pokrovsk is surrounded. Seversk is being invaded. Konstantinivka is under assault. Druzhkivka is being bombarded. Kramatorsk is taking more hits than usual. The whole region feels more volatile than ever.

The soldiers in this film have been fighting across all of these fronts for over a year. I wanted to hear what they think comes next. And to understand the full picture, I also spoke to civilians and volunteers about what’s happening beyond the battlefield and what’s at stake for the Donbas right now.