Russian soldiers given their chance to speak at Venice

By Crispian Balmer

VENICE (Reuters) - Documentary-maker Anastasia Trofimova spent seven months living with Russian soldiers near the front line in Ukraine and has brought their tale to the Venice Film Festival, looking to challenge stereotypes.

"In Russia, they are these heroes who never die. In the West, they are mostly war criminals, war criminals, war criminals," the Russian-Canadian director told reporters ahead of the premiere of her film "Russians at War".

"To me, the biggest shock was to see how ordinary they were. Absolutely ordinary guys with families, with a sense of humour, with their own understanding of what's happening in this war."

Working without authorisation, Trofimova embedded herself with a battle-bruised battalion as it makes its way across eastern Ukraine, getting a rare glimpse of an often ramshackle army in a regular state of disarray.

The weaponry is old, the troops travel in vehicles that offer little protection from attack and at one point a drone operator drops a bomb on his own side. The only things in ready supply appear to be cigarettes and alcohol.

Many soldiers admit they are only fighting for the money and grow increasingly disillusioned as the conflict that erupted with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 drags on, denouncing coverage of the war on state media as "lies".

Others fight out of camaraderie, with attitudes hardening as the casualties mount.

"People might not really understand the reasons behind (the war), but they start to fight because they lost someone. And it's maybe a question of revenge," Trofimova said.

The film follows a team of medics as they collect bodies from the battleground, breaking down in tears as three of their own unit return in black bags.

However, it shows only brief glimpses of actual fighting and gives no sense of the destruction Moscow's forces have inflicted on Ukraine, with one of the soldiers dismissing as "impossible" accusations that Russian troops had committed war crimes.

Trofimova said she saw no signs of war crimes during her time near the front.

"I think in Western media, that's what Russian soldiers are associated with at this point, because there were no other stories. This is another story," she said.

"This is my attempt to see through the fog of war and to see people for people."

Another documentary premiered at Venice, "Songs of Slow Burning Earth," showed the suffering of Ukraine, and its director criticised the decision to screen the Russian film, saying it was too soon to portray the invaders in a sympathetic light.

"I think Russian film-makers should ... show the real face of the criminals of this war," Olha Zhurba said on Wednesday.

Trofimova dismissed the criticism, saying it was vital not to fuel the hatred further and instead seek common ground.

"Since the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022, there have been a lot of bridges destroyed between Russia and the West," she said.

"I would like this film to be maybe not a bridge, but at least a rope I can throw across and to help us see each other."

"Russians at War" is being shown out of competition in the Venice Film Festival, which closes on Saturday.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Angus MacSwan)