IN THE HEART OF THE TRENCHES | M6 | Enquête Exclusive

As surprising as it may seem, this war is also trench warfare. Where the Ukrainian and Russian armies face each other, as in 1914, to defend every square inch of territory taken from the enemy.

Our reporter, Charles Comiti, went near Zaporizhia on the southern front.

In the middle of winter, he spent ten days, with the soldiers of the Araï battalion (pronounced Araille), holed up in trenches, built with his bare hands.

Among these men, you will discover Commander Serguei (29 years old), or “Plombir” (24 years old), a young recruit who was to get married.

All are civilians: workers, teachers, drivers, who decided to sacrifice their lives to defend Ukraine.

A few hundred meters from the front line, these soldiers are caught daily under a deluge of fire. Faced with the powerful Russian army, they lack everything: food, weapons and ammunition. If they resist, it is thanks to their knowledge of the field and their determination.

This immersion of Charles Comiti is an exceptional testimony on a war of position of another time. In these trenches: holding is the primary objective, before considering the response.

This response is often organized from behind the front, where resourcefulness becomes a means of survival.

You will discover soldiers who are used to tinkering with weapons taken from the enemy. Like these “Grads” missiles that are launched from “pick-ups” to harass Russian positions. This is also the war in Ukraine. An asymmetrical conflict that settles in time with sometimes derisory means.