According to estimates by security authorities, several hundred German citizens are fighting on the Russian side in the Ukraine war. Who are the men who are going to war for Putin? One of them: 30-year-old Nikolaj B. from Essen. He left Germany to fight for Putin. His nom de guerre: “Stierlitz” - named after the undercover agent in a Russian TV series. Nikolaj B. posts about his experiences on social media. Since 2014, he is said to have traveled between the front and Germany several times. Another fighter is Alexander F.: his nom de guerre: “Dnjepr”. The 40-year-old fought on Russia's side in the Ukraine war and was taken prisoner by the Ukrainians. What motivates these men to go to the front for Putin? We show how Russia attracts fighters from abroad - and how dangerous the mercenaries can be when they return to Germany. _______________ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:39 The case of Nikolaj B. 03:40 The ultranationalist Igor Girkin 06:25 The recruiter Mikhail Polynkov 10:45 The case of Viktor K. 14:40 Nikolaj B. in Syria 16:50 The case of Alexander F. 21:39 Returnees in Germany 26:35 What German security authorities know 28:33 Outro _______________ Author: Harriet Kloss, Markus Thöß Camera: Kirsten Kofahl, Karsten Neubert Sound: Konstantin Salomatin Editor: Eva-Maria Arndt, Marcus Dippner, Ed van Megen, Christopher Nesirky Editorial assistance: Jonathan Baynard, Olexii Savchenko Speaker: Meike Krüger Art Director, Graphics: Nicolas de Leval Jezierski Graphics: Marie-Louise Stoll CvD Cine Impuls Leipzig: Sabine Cygan, Meike Krüger Head of Social Media Cine Impuls Leipzig: Veronika Prütz Team: Henrik Merker, Emmi Neumann, Hannah Jäger, Jan Möllers, Dirk Nebel, Malte Pätz, Anne Strasen Producer Cine Impuls Leipzig: Anke Kossira Editorial staff frontal: Jörg Göbel, Kyo Mali Jung Head of Content frontal: Kyo Mali Jung _______________ Songs in the video: Pulse of Fear - David Stephen Goldsmith, Andrew Michael Brighton Into the Depths - David Stephen Goldsmith, Andrew Michael Brighton Unlocked Terror - David Stephen Goldsmith, Andrew Michael Brighton Panoramic Visions - Michael Holborn, William Henries Threat Vector - Dorian Charnis Subversion - Aaron Albert Srdoc Constrictor - Aaron Albert Srdoc Endless Tunnel - Brandon Lau Sabotage - David Gregory Byrne (ASCAP) Norseman - Damon William Baxter, Falviu Ciocan ______________ More background: A Russian warrior spills the beans I ZDF Mediathek: https://www.zdf.de/dokumentation/puti... Shooting for Putin: The case of Alexander F. I ZDF Mediathek: https://www.zdf.de/politik/frontal/de... ZDF live blog on the Ukraine war: https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/thema/... The Ukraine war in fast motion: https://zdfheute-stories-scroll.zdf.d... Historical background to the Ukraine war: https://zdfheute-stories-scroll.zdf.d... _______________ Welcome to frontal! You are probably already familiar with the exciting documentaries and reports from ZDFheute Nachrichten, ZDFinfo or ZDF Magazin Royale. frontal is the YouTube format for the program of the same name, ZDF's investigative magazine. ________________ More from frontal? There is a new video on this channel every week. Don't want to miss anything? Subscribe to frontal! Do you have a topic suggestion? Write to us: [email protected] ________________ More information at: Media library: https://kurz.zdf.de/X0i6 Netiquette: kurz.zdf.de/BVVI Imprint: https://kurz.zdf.de/Ch0G #frontal #zdf #ukraine