VolunTears

“See that burned house? It burned not because of war. When retreating, Nazis poured gasoline, set it on fire and left,” Maxim from the city of Volnovakha in Donbass claims. He witnessed how Ukrainian nationalist forces left the city. They used civilian buildings as firing points and then destroyed them as they retreated. Locals said Ukrainian nationalists referred to them as ‘non-humans’, so they felt free to shoot them at will. “When they ran away through the center on March 3, they shot my relative. For nothing,” Maxim adds.

Scorched earth tactics by Ukrainian forces led to a severe humanitarian crisis. Now the only way to survive is aid from Russia. Every 10 days, volunteers bring a convoy to problem areas. They are Russian businessmen who gather supplies from all over the country. At their own risk, they search for missing people and evacuate them. What stories do they tell?

Watch "VolunTears" on May 20 on RTD website and on RT's live feed. The time of the broadcast is available on RT's schedule page.