and the poison spreads there, ah, less noisy, with the great documentary series destruction of a nation. this week on d. w. a cookie puppy, tuskegee lee tends to his cattle outside his village on pastures that have been steadily shrinking since the south, the sea, she and region definitively broke away from georgia in 2008. godaddy's land is now divided by a new border, heavily guarded by russian troops. who locals, fear i'm the russians arrested me here. just recently, like mister day came all the way up to there and chased me this way. i said, well sir, they couldn't go wicked. russia has been effectively in control of south sea. she

has since 2008 and has steadily shifted the border further into georgia territory. the government in tbilisi seems powerless to take action. so david kept the river and the men in his citizens patrol group set out to stop what they say is the creeping annexation of their country order. the throttle is for mission that after the war in 2008 to go, russia occupied 20 percent of our country. that by itself is a lot. but it didn't. and there we've been losing more and more territory ever since about 34 years. ah, ah, yes, david cassava is actually in the tourism business. but a number of years ago, he began conducting daily patrols of this disputed border area. he set up as a villain, defense unit to prevent the seizure of george and land with the use of fences like

this one. i thought scribbled. oh, sorry. ok, holly. this is new. barbed wire. the russians installed it about 6 weeks ago. dom up sie arc. they did it specifically to stop us bringing deliveries and some other help here. god that will debussy dover rebel. what i bought the the group come to this fence every week or 2 around my value or it's david for that caller. we're by defense. okay, we'll wait for you here. her little girl, good valia lives on the other side of the divide in the self proclaimed republic of south asia. russian military intervention in 2008 secured the regions break from georgia. malia is now effectively fenced in, and david cuts her of our points to another injustice. sugar the red line is the

south o c psion administrative boundary it while we're here by the blue dot and the fence has no business here that we've had 7000 hector's of land taken from us in addition to the areas we lost during the war. i vanished billing and her husband refused to take south lucy. she and citizenship, they insisted on continuing to live on their land in a personal protest against the occupation. but since the death of her husband mal, your strength has been failing, my relatives say i should move to their place. otto oliver aurora. no, you have to stay where you are, doctor, we'll take care of you and do everything we can well up or it matters. we've brought along a few things for you while you're logged on to that server. thanks. the russian south o. c, she and border authorities rarely allow the 90 year old's relatives to visit her.

here to the george and civilian patrol group helps out with food and medication. eats his health will be out of route. she acknowledges the importance of her being there. yeah. and fighting for his horrible because it is a fight, you know the laws. 16 percent of the disputed border has already been fortified by russian southie. she enforces with barbed wire and fences. villages have been divided and people separated from their fields as well as from their friends and relatives. georgia is a multi ethnic state during the soviet era. both of those c sheehan and that kazi and minorities had autonomy, territories inside george's borders. after the collapse of communism and the soviet union, they declared their independence. but with georgia, insisting that they remain part of the country. a series of violent conflicts broke out in the early 19 ninety's. moscow backed the separatist movements from the

outset in 2008 fighting escalated into an open war between russia and georgia. to day, the regions of south the sienna kasha are effectively under russian control, with an estimated 20000 soldiers stationed there. according to georgia estimates, georgia state security services monitor their side of the occupation line, turning a blind eye to the activities of the civilian patrol groups, provided they don't lead to open conflict with the other side. but just days earlier, the volunteers had been denied access to the high security zone surrounding the border village of a tootsie. i've got him over the bar admission. those did. how did the conduct can only mean one thing? he said to be the average rate. we're not supposed to see what's happening there on hold syllabus pulled. so she, so we counted phone the public picture that says we've got the bus. ah me, what's with this myriad of, if we're denied entry again today, oh,

what hope it's possible? we'll make our own way to a touchy though what train exhibit they can't stop us hobbled said the o a some, some water which i already got to watch it had been. anyone wishing to pass through the security zone requires permission at one of the many check points along the occupation line. the citizens patrol group are denied entry again. cassava has always given the georgian authorities advance notice of his group's movements. now he threatens to take matters into his own hands. more muted. i've just sent a message to my contact, former southern saying vetter deal with the security services as over. other odds im eddie duncan, ruggedly and his threat is effective. a few minutes later, they get the all clear and are permitted to continue their journey to potosi.

ok, we're off. you go 1st, all follow knowledge roonan evian, to show you the co. no. that fine. guy with the men sat off again followed by george in state security personnel. the civilians, the suspect of further border encroachment in a touchy information. they believe their escorts purposefully withheld from them. 20 minutes later, they discover a new border sign. the russian military are nowhere to be seen, but a new demarcation line is also in place, along with a freshly ploughed field. ah, it's hands or something around they will. they call it a fire break, see no lula. she are. but by digging this tragedy to allegedly protect the fields from fire, so they've also drawn a new line of occupation. oh, but i answered the border fence. they originally erected must be 50 or 60 meters

away. you want that, that be great. and this new borderline is more than a kilometer long, whereby that means they've taken over several 100 hector's of land. what's his houses? so she unit or is keybo r. m a? remember to pick up the repeat, this is all new god, the more we the now you see it with the naked. i hear that the symbol local, but they've crossed the original demarcation line. they set up hill through visit the road. they've done their work along the whole line. well, the then disappeared. army promotes are are. that's what our government is hiding. our kids again. i isic or that's why we weren't allowed to come here. give our cold shampoos, some too hot or some hillier, the new border shift is a set back for the men in 2018, they managed to prevent the erection of a fence at this very spot. and their patrol group, when fans across georgia. the older girls of the old quote throng while ago we

stood up to the russians. much bold that we told them we wouldn't let him through and that they'd have to shoot us 1st or after that. we lived here the whole year. well, that meant facing the russians. they saw we were here and couldn't do anything. developers that are good but the george in government relented under pressure law, rebuild it tober 19th, 2019. that was a day of shame for our government screen. just look at this video so that they sent police officers to stand between us and the russians was and created the ideal working conditions for the russians in the process. um show probably arnold, i apologize. yeah, this is not your standard. see up with why

the georgia government found itself in an unenviable position and it pains to avoid open conflict with a militarily superior opponent. nato pitched loudy and tom tug wattsey work for state security, monitoring the george inside of the occupation line. there is no longer any contact between tbilisi and sion valley. the capital of the self proclaimed republic of south asia almost daily the 2 witnessed offenses on the south association border changing from one to c. c t. v cameras was the 3rd mobile one. the relief, if a go closer then operation of forces might appear on the ground as fe, my lego illegal to tain. erin,

who goes closer to the division. since the turn of the millennium, georgia has been drawing closer to both nato and the you in rushes eyes. this constitutes a security risk from within its declared sphere of influence. moscow has spent 2 decades trying to hinder george's growing affiliation with the west. without the help of international partners, georgia can do almost nothing to oppose russia's expansionist policy. formal diplomatic relations between moscow and tbilisi have been suspended since 2008. but on the econd tonic front, georgia remains heavily dependent on russia, especially when it comes to energy, infrastructure and tourism. the george and authorities are therefore eager to focus on di escalation, deputy foreign affairs minister lasha dice. aaliyah explains the situation. they

are doing this inside of the so former administrative lying by the thing. is there teacher in reality? so just plain lay and they're going give portion by portion just to hear it as a supplemental for oh liberty john, don't dare say $10.00. 3 got to be crazy. so i'd be willing to meet with you ari soccer told georgia has to overriding principles, lenovo territorial integrity and european as well as you are atlantic integration also for the rockets. the warsaw trump, the russian federation is trying to make us renounce one or the other. some harakas or is ag. that's an existential threat to georgia tech are tools to small this year . so mom suffer. so we have no room to compromise and not much room to negotiate. a particle money will be stress has a little bow. frank griffin, our fear is that the russian federation will keep trying to bully ga, mazda with carmel peters, soccer toys. they bottled david cups rather,

and his team are now on their way to tbilisi. most of the men live in the capital with their families and work in various professions. they spend as much of their free time as possible on the patrols which are funded by donations with on their way home. they hear some surprising news. i was able to with the one that's called all the child we got, we need to go there and take a look at the situation as well. so we can maximize public exposure and response. we want these people released as soon as possible. russel twahoma la m here in the border region, someone is arrested every 2 or 3 days charged with illegally crossing the border. how heard her go be puffy?

tash really has already been attained 3 times by russian forces. on 2 occasions he was released again after a few hours. but the other time he ended up spending 2 months in his south, the sea, she and jail shermer could agree the hungry cattle did not recognize the invisible line of occupation. of course. so go these assistant, ilya desperately tries to drive them back, don't you remember june? i don't let them go into the ravine. she oh, i missed the russians arrested me. he had just recently died, both shoes like they came all the way up to there and chased me this way with a nice little february could then come a wicked. this entire stretch of land belonged to us, georgians, morally, the and the russians took it from us. you see the lines there along the forest that mark their territory. they say little garden will give you so,

so we have to constantly wonder what exactly belongs to us. georgians, how far are we allowed to go, roddy? i'll get us up and back. this is our cemetery shaw next to the conifers. by that path amy zaden. all right, we can't visit the graves of their ancestors any more. not. it's not but a double. the village pastures have shrunk since the break away of south se shya, but the border has yet to be fortified here. so it's invisible, even for the herders. they still don't know exactly where they can send their cattle to greys. oh lordy, we now have just 16 cows. we used to have a 100. i collect her. but if we brought a 100 animals to graze here, now the grass would all be gone in a day or so. people sold their cattle and did i mention how many cows we lose here? last year it was 4 and 8 the year before hamish remitted, i got to go to wash rooney. let them go to the water until i go through. there's

a small river down in the valley perilously close to the demarcation line. the herders can either stay back and risk losing their cattle to the other side or across the line and face the prospect of arrest and a hefty fine imposed by the occupying forces. little gordon, in government, those. what are we supposed to do with the cows? keep on moving or what we need to get them back while we were afraid, but the cows need water and there's not enough in the village is killing us all morning valued. i as he walked through a door practically every family in karbala has been affected by arrests. the men in the village share the cattle hurting duties. goldie's wife, irma, where he is, every time it's his turn to go out on to the pastures. marano mac, i don't want anybody to get captured by the enemy. the last time he was arrested, they dragged him away by force. so calmly as these ha ha at 5 pm. gaki safely ushers all the cows back into the village. were including the 2 that are his own.

i'm glad to see you back safely. come and sit with me. i d. o goby. in irma 1st met in sheen valley. she's association and he's georgian, ethnically mixed. couples are not uncommon in the region. and this couple don't, brooke, any discrimination? i'm not quoted hot. martha on, marcia mimutual, i wouldn't allow anyone to say anything bad about her. well, and actually nobody does that as the limits. there is no such thing here at ocean. it's been 13 years since emma last saw her family back in sheen valley and the conflict between georgia and south sea she has been going on for at least a century with war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and acts of forced displacement. committed by both sides. the couple experienced the war in 2008 1st hand though shem will never said be done.

nothing was damaged when the russians came in here given an o horse, i rob is to set up pity, doesher. b. although the house was shaking from the roar of the tanks, passing by, i saw a shrub with her, but there was damage or talk to her what it was was through him without oversight. but they didn't harm anybody or insult them about either we see a lot of georgians don't want to have anything to do with the i see sions anymore and vice versa. that's how it is. now, the villages along the demarcation line are known locally as she, she so natalie zones, a fear emigration rates are high. local people feel the government has already given up on their communities. meanwhile, david cats are ever and his patrol group have arrived in the border village of erik nettie. the latest arrest incident has already drawn attention. the local press are

waiting for cats or rather, the go to interview partner. when it comes to the occupation. i'm focused who's got available in full nazi right now. stories are circulating that say, or citizens crossed the occupation line and were arrested back a lot. but in front of 80 percent of cases involved the occupier seizing people from territory controlled by all felucca people to rent training. it's no coincidence that these interviews are conducted right next to the checkpoint in ag, nettie. this is where those who have been arrested are usually handed back to the georgian authorities, often after lengthy negotiations. apparently that from the refugee settlement in kara, letty, or to troubleshoot or not from the village of governor bush. yeah. right. they live in the refugee settlement, which is where the patrol group are now headed in order to find the families of the

men arrested. the settlement was built after the 2008 war to house refugees fleeing the chin valley region. de la daisy at, aren't there any stores here where we could ask a mini market says many mart. let's try there. one thing we want to know. cuts are alone makes inquiries, they live and it turns out the shopkeeper does know one of the families or the other backlog this on with. so let's see if we can locate them. they live somewhere around here. oh, cool, that's horrible. and so there inquiries continue. this driver immediately recognizes cancer of a and is happy to help. after being told the address, the volunteer patrol man finds the family's home. hello, sorry to disturb. have you been contacted about to find mr. camino? no, i haven't auto. nobody's been in touch all. no. my heart's been racing morning working

with southern yet um, other than it was only when i went to the store this morning that i found out about their arrest. thankfully good. what will happen to my son or my, our sing amble, but at all. oh god, mccord are accused of having crossed the border called them, which i doubt how is that because it's really not easy to do there because of the fence or from yeah, i miss me a little. you can always reach me on my phone, showing that we do everything we can do to help was affordable for all 3 children. i thank you so much. my little david katara has no new information, but he knows how these arrests, usually progress. i'll call miss oak, but sir, but are taken to a military base and then transferred out. they have to pay a fine that's determined to court. the whole process takes 2 or 3 days. and during that time, they're held in prison. i only the local, the basic line is equivalent to 25 heroes. a considerable sum for people here. and

it can be a lot more. but here to the patrol group tries to help out as a long day draws to a close. the men drive home tbilisi is a city of over a 1000000 inhabitants. despite the ongoing conflict with the countries, powerful neighbor, the george and capital attract the large numbers of tourists from russia, providing a welcome boost to the local economy. david cats are of our lives in the outskirts of the city, with his wife and their 3 children. the family are among those whose livelihoods depend on tourism. david and his wife, sophia, catch a pulitzer organized extreme kayaking in canoe tours before becoming an activist. he was a popular actor in t v presenter in georgia. what is now known for being in the political spotlight, his border patrols have changed the lives of every one in his family.

the items are for his activities serve greater purpose. so regardless of what happens, well i'll stand by him as best i can. her go chair with edward before going for him a note call me well, as it's walk it far is all about tardies. what i'm doing now is my mission in life . i finally found my purpose horrible. she raised herself and know what i was born to do it over to them all. and it was very so powerful, though. so was a lot of david caps or other prepares to head back to the demarcation line. the 3 men recently detained, have now been released surprisingly quickly. today's patrol will take his team close to a russian military base. with a team of e. u. observers was sent to the region to monitor the ceasefire, negotiated between russia, southeast asia and georgia in 2008. they patrol the demarcation line on

a daily basis. their mission is to bring stability to the region and build up trust between the conflicting parties. when we go to the areas that we are patrolling, it is necessary to be very visible. it's a part of our mandate to be on the ground visible so that they can really see our prism, the e u team document everything they observe in the field. the resulting internal reports are sent to brussels and analysts in the various e u. member states. this is sophia gessner, from france. she and her colleagues are tasked to with recording any violations of international law along the border. although that's not all they do is not jeff from belgium explains but we also have a human aspect of the monitoring. so how does security activities and developments influenced people living here in this area?

and we, we monitored in human rights affects the e you mission has one major flaw. however, according to media spokeswoman gessner. so almond it's is valid. we've in the internationally recognized photos of georgia, bertha, we are denied, i've says to appliance off with this. yeah, the e u mission is therefore unable to say much about living conditions in the regions that broke away from georgia. communication across the border is minimal. in 2011 a hotline was set up to enable the 2 sides to report problems, and even conduct negotiations with the aim of deescalate intentions. around 300 individuals from all over the u, as well as from georgia, work for the mission. it's budget for the current 2 year period is approximately $45000000.00 euros.

russia has already set up 42 military bases across the region. moscow recognized the sovereignty of south the seizure after the 2008 war. but the break away state remains heavily reliant on russia in economic terms. and the kremlin also exerts considerable influence on the south association government. the anti occupational activists dispatch a drone to try and spy on any new plans to push the border further into georgia territory. colonel worked to turn was road was buzzers, we're now watching movements at the base to see what they're up to say that the been this is the morning shift team social approaches. so they're preparing to go out on patrol for promoting palazzios group number. russia is our enemy, and more information improves our ability to fight them. so god,

that's astorga. so global to settle. i see there a truck lives in stranger. they don't let him in. the men's activities are not without risk. their drone has already come under fire once, but they accept these risks and remain determined to resist as they see it. neither the georgia government nor the u mission has an effective plan for dealing with the encroaching russian occupation cuts or rather, and as men always decide spontaneously when and where they will, petrol to monitor the russian occupiers and their illegal encroachments. the men have to use the element of surprise. they often end up in precarious situations. ah, pato, but when you get the camera and start recording the day, the dog certainly or more of them

is at least 3. the driving off now. it picked us up gilbert. they thought we were locals, men, and that they might be able to rest us. hey, give is go with that. they've split her guard room. david cats are of, i says his patrol group has prevented the erection of around 10 kilometers of border fence at least putting a small dent in the creeping annexation of his country. oh, to live up for culprits, charles of stories, those little dis, it's own day. we definitely will kick the russians out. allen, i don't know when my le tour, but it will happen my and saw lowest ah

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with the news alive from berlin. ukraine rejects russia's proposal for humanitarian corridors, leading to russia and bela bruce. thousands of people are waiting to flee, and they're hoping for escape routes to safety. although still trapped in russian controlled areas displayed their defiance and are met with gunfire. also coming up on the show fleeing, while bombs fall. ukraine says 8 people were killed by a russian attack during a supposedly cease fire. president vladimir zalinski says russia must be punished for murdering civilians.