RTDocumentary

‘When the Ukrainians are shelling us, something’s always falling down.’ A nun from the Nikolo-Vasilievsky Monastery in the village of Nikolsky told how the Ukrainian military shelled them. Follow: https://t.me/PS_peoplesay

June 5 is World Environment Day. On this day, we want to tell you a story from Zimbabwe, where hundreds of elephants are killed by poachers. Roxy Danckwerts founded the Wild is Life wildlife sanctuary at her family farm. She and her staff nurse orphaned baby elephants. They wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild but get a second chance at Roxy’s sanctuary. ‘When we have a new baby, we will often hang a blanket, and the baby will go into there thinking it’s the shape of the mother and put his head up to suckle,’ says Roxy. Do these infants have an opportunity to return to the wild? Watch the clip and documentary When an Elephant Smilesto find out. #Zimbabwe#wildlife#nature Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘They told us who really tortured them, who used them as human shields. These Nazis, these fascists. How they’d get shot in the back, how children were shot.’ Daniil Martynov takes part in Russia’s special operation in Ukraine as one of the commanders of a Chechen unit. Daniil says his fighters encounter frightened civilians when liberating territory from Ukrainian forces. They’re afraid of any military because they have suffered a lot from Ukrainian fighters. But after talking to Russian soldiers and receiving humanitarian aid, people change their minds. Daniil said his soldiers never started fights in populated areas and stayed away from civilians, unlike the Ukrainian nationalists. Listen to the stories of residents of the liberated territory. Daniil Martynov is the subject ofWe’re Fighting the World’s Evil about the Russian special operation in Ukraine. #Ukraine Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Within minutes, Leith’s entire family was killed by terrorists in front of him. In 2016, militants in Syria seized the boy’s village. His father fought the terrorists and waited for reinforcements until the last moment. It never came. Three generations of the family were in the house when the fighters stormed it. Only five-year-old Leith and his grandmother survived. Watch the clip to learn his fate years after the tragedy. Then, find more about the conflict and its victims in the documentary Syria: The Story of One Tragedy. #Syria Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

June 4 is the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression. The purpose of the day is to pay attention to children’s rights who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. This problem is acute in the West African country of Togo. Almost a third of the population lives below the poverty line. As a result, many families have to send their children to work from an early age. Кids do heavy labour, which is intended for strong men. They work in quarries and mines. The conditions are often deadly and close to slavery. ‘I have an agreement with the parents of children who work here. They start at 7 am and work till noon. Then they take a break and continue from 2 pm till 4 pm.,’ said Bernard Kpodzro Kokou, the enterprise owner, where children crush stones into gravel with hammers. To learn more stories of children deprived of childhood, watch the clip and documentary Togo: Tough to Survive. #Togo Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘Put it like this so you can't be seen, but you can see everything. I tell you this for the future. You are a sniper; you will be the first to be shot.’ This footage shows a militia fighter training a new soldier, a yesterday's civilian, to defend himself against Ukrainian nationalists. During the fierce fighting for Mariupol, people from various professions were forced to take up arms. ‘Some are miners, security guards. A journalist is here. Electricians, drivers’, told us Mariupol residents. Those who went to fight say the desire to protect their people from the atrocities of the Ukrainian military was stronger than fear. This excerpt will be included in our future film about the battle for Mariupol and those who took part in it. It will premiere soon. #Ukraine#Mariupol Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘In 2014, I decided to come help protect the people of Donbass from all the madness that was happening here’, says volunteer Alexis Castillo. For the last eight years, he’s been fighting on the side of the DPR. But, he says, ‘people had a legitimate right not to support the illegal coup in Maidan’. Alexis is originally from Colombia but has lived in Spain for a long time. There he participated in the anti-fascist movement. We have already talked about Alexis in one of the posts. Watch the whole history in our film Foreign Fighters of Donbass. #Donbass Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Scientists are studying the sensational huge craters in Yamal. These are giant funnels that can easily fit a 10-storey building. The pits are tens of metres deep. So, where do they come from? See in our post. In the filmBlack Holes of Yamal, a group of scientists talk about their theories of the mysterious phenomenon. #Russia#Yamal Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

'We were outraged that they [the Ukrainian military] came here for shoot at us later. And it happened. The building was completely destroyed.' Residents of Mariupol talk about the behaviour of Ukrainian soldiers. Follow: https://t.me/PS_peoplesay

‘I volunteered to join the Donetsk defenders… because I wanted to do my part in resolving this problem... the problem of Nazism in Donetsk’. These are the words of the Mexican Ignacio Ojeda, who came to help the people of Donbass. Foreigners from different countries came to protect people from Ukrainian shelling: Serbia, Colombia, Italy, and the USA. They blame the West for the situation in Donbas. ‘Mariupol Drama Theatre... NATO, Washington, why? These are your weapons. You destroyed this community,’ says American volunteer Zak Novak. For more about those who did not leave the inhabitants in trouble, watch the new RT Documentary filmForeign Fighters of Donbass. #premiere#Donbass Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

Every year on 3 June, World Bicycle Day is celebrated. For the young people of the Congolese town of Goma, cycling is an opportunity to start a better life. The town lies at the foot of an active volcano. There is poverty here; armed gangs are in the surrounding jungle. The alternative to them is the local cycling club. The athletes are constantly hungry but dream of becoming African champions. One of the main characters of our documentary is the president of the local cycling club. He trains the boys and feeds them to have at least one meal a day. Find out more about the club in our clip. Then, watch the entire film Congo: Cycle of Life to learn about the hope the club gives the young Congolese. #Congo#sport#humanstories Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary

‘They just shelled them. They said it was the Russian Army. Provocations were made. They were driving civilians into basements, shelling was over, and they occupied these positions - their houses, flats.’ A fighter of the Vostok battalion, codenamed ‘Yegor’, described the Ukrainian armed forces’ actions during the fighting in Mariupol. According to him, Ukrainian soldiers drove people out into the street and set up firing points in their flats: ‘They [Ukrainian military] were taking nine-storey buildings, five-storey buildings - it doesn’t matter. In the private sector, they were occupying these dwellings.’ ‘Yegor’ also explained to our camera crew the tactics of the operation at Azovstal - how he and other fighters drove the Ukrainian nationalists and military out of the plant. This episode includes an interview with fighters from the Vostok battalion. It will be included in our new film, which will premiere soon. #Ukraine#Mariupol Follow: https://t.me/rtdocumentary