Captain Serhiy Filimonov, 'Filya,' commander of the 108th Assault Battalion of the Da Vinci Wolves. In Donetsk Oblast, June 4, 2025. ADRIEN VAUTIER / LE PICTORIUM FOR « LE MONDE »
On this autumn morning, Commander Serhiy Filimonov – "Filya," his nom de guerre – had a grave look in his eyes. Taking advantage of a brief respite on the front line near Pokrovsk in the Donbas, he distributed medals, distinctions and letters of commendation that his battalion had received in recent months. Without disclosing numbers, he admitted, "There are a lot of medals we can no longer give out, unfortunately, because the guys are dead, and many others we award on hospital beds, to the wounded."
During a previous meeting in a bunker not far from the front in June, "Filya," drawn and worried, shared his concern that day: six members of his battalion had suffered injuries since dawn and the battalion was unable to evacuate them from the front line. There were too many drones and Russian rockets, too many obstacles for the medics, too much violence in the air.
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