What a difference a year makes. I hope all the people in this video come through the war in one piece.

- No filming in the metro! - *Oh no! Anyway...*

Dude literally went to a warzone just so he could look at a mural and say “wow! So soviet!” Fair play

Bald hasn’t uploaded is he alright?

"Goodbye sunny Bakhmut, I hope we meet again" That one hurt a little bit

Christina was cute - thanks for including that; it was fun seeing a kid being a kid.

Bald you documented a real piece of history with this film.

"you'll notice the metro stations aren't fancy..." *Points at marble columns and walls*

Think about this, regarding the little girl on the bus filming herself: she is close to, if not living in a war zone. It's the dead of winter in North East Ukraine, probably 15 degrees F, every plant life is dead, the sky is gray (likely has been for months), ground covered in inches of snow ... yet still she smiles bright and finds beauty in her environment. Pretty powerful stuff.

Bakmut, Avdivka and Lisychansk, these names are world famous now. There's almost nothing left of Bakmut and Avdivka now, only rubble. You got some of the last pictures of these towns.

The mural on the destroyed building on 18:05 isn't a random lady. She's a local teacher of Ukrainian literature, she used to teach it for years. Her husband's got injured 20 meters away from the building, and their flat is just in the building nearby, facing the frontline. I think this gives a strong symbolic message, especially considering her profession. P.S. Mural was made by Australian painter

Christina is the star of this video " look how beautiful it is here" beauty is in the eye of the beholder but the beauty of Christina's words and her innocents should be the pride of the Ukrainian people!

Not seen any new video. Hope he is in good health

No flashy intros. Straight to the video. This gentleman is the embodiment of youtube's glory days.

“As you can see the station isn’t very fancy” still more aesthetically pleasing than 99% of the underground stations in other countries

Picking up that discarded empty rpg was some real russian roulette.

Just casually strolling around the ruins of a battlefield, "Oh look a rocket launcher"

That part with the young girl filming had me smiling, it's moments like that make your channel very special Ben

The people looking at him like he's crazy never gets old

"There is no Karl Marx street in Kiev, let me tell you" - there is one in Berlin, Germany. Ironically, it is a street full of shopping malls and other consumerist temples of capitalism ;)

Dude!! You literally brought tears in my eyes. I was born in a super small town called Antratsyt which is about 1h by car south from Lugansk. We moved to Czech where I grew up very long time ago but I was still visiting my relatives in Antratsyt fairly regularly right until the war started. I've lost contact with them ever since. Now I have a decent job living in Sweden which makes it easy for me to get cocky sometimes.. but watching your videos humbles me very much.. I wish I could go there and reconnect with my roots again. Very painful. Thank god for your courage to go there and thank you for doing what you're doing. Big fan. Cheers from Uppsala! Sergej.

I came back to rewatch this in Jan 2023. It is surreal hearing and seeing places like Avdiivka and Lysychansk, but the real cherry on the cake is the pit stop in Bakhmut! For somewhere that gets barely 3 minutes of screen time and is relatively glazed over in this video to be basically the focus of the entire world right now is crazy.. Also extremely eerie to know that everything we are seeing is rubble now. I hope that everyone we see and meet in this video is safe xx

Bold doesn't know but Metro is considered a strategic object in terms of war, bomb shelter and logistics in Soviet Union. That is why Babushkas are ready to go to war for filming there. 😆🤣

The kid still loves her country. That was wholesome

Watching again in 2022 to try and understand more of the current situation. Thank you Ben for everything you do on this channel.

What a sweet precious girl. In the middle of a war zone and she's commenting on "how beautiful it is here" as she points out the window of the train. What a darling spirit. I wish her a healthy and content life.

This is probably one of the last videos of Bakhmut you'll ever get to see before it was completely leveled.

Christina is a natural vlogger: Hamming it up and showing off the beautiful view! So optimistic

Very good piece of journalism. No opinions, no exaggerated commentaries - just showing what it is. For people to see and make their own conclusions - that's what journalism is.

11:50 Careful when touching leftover/discarded weapons: They could be booby-trapped. Even mines were booby-trapped in the Balkans...

Dude that metro station looks exactly the same as the ones in north korea!

That old babushka that got hit on the shoulder had such a sweet voice God bless her Sweetie

this is crazy seeing this video 3 years later. Avdeevka, Bakhmut, Lisichansk, all names of towns that have been bitter killing fields in the news. so thankful for this video as a historical document.

Hi, I'm from Ukraine, Lisichansk. It was really interesting to watch your video.

Wow, he was in Bakhmut while still no real war broke out, what a beatiful city it was. This is when you realize not all the places we visit will remain unchanged 😢

Next issue of Babushka: "have you seen this bald spy?"

I just want someone to look at me the way Bald looks at Soviet mosaics.

Couple years ago only local people knew about existence of these Ukrainian small town and villages. Now in 2023 the names of Bahmut, Avdeevka, Lisitchansk became known in many countries.

Crazy how obscure and unknown Bakhmut was when Bald filmed this, and just how synonymous it's since become in the war; the feature of many news report.

Bald see a particle of dust.. Bald: wow what a pure Soviet dust particle

the part where the young girl took the camera documenting her country hit home

With everything going on, the specter of war looming large, leave it to a child to see the beauty in things. God bless you Christina.

3 years on and this hits entirely different.

"excuse me can you please take a video of me reading my babushka magazine?"

10:00 Cab guy : "you're speaking bad russian." Bald: "Thanks!"

It was a lovely encounter with the child. It's always refreshing to see a grain of hope in the middle of such a gray and sad environment. Bald is capturing a real human experience, something that goes beyond the fibers of mankind. Cannot be replicated, will forever be part of KZfaq history.

Coming back to this video today for a refresher in this region’s history.

Quick update of the region everyone: massive military conflict started today on 3/11/2021 in Donbass, it's a miracle that Bald left right before the conflict.

I’m telling you, having that little girl film probably made her year. You’re amazing Bald!

Awwww, that little girl was so excited to film herself and to meet a foreigner. I truly hope that she is safe and happy!

mr bald is the most underappreciated channel on KZfaq: 0% unnecessary content 0% self promotions 100% babushka approved entertainment

Those babushkas will always mention you later as: that weird mosaic guy.

You're a good man, giving that old lady some cash. My heart broke for her. Your videos are amazing, thank you for taking us all with you

Someone said in Russian: "11:48 don't do that, those thigs are often stuffed with mines"

Crazy seeing Bakhmut knowing that the city is practically in ruins, thousands of soldiers have died fighting over it and thousands of civilians have died caught in between

1:27 “no filming in the metro” 😬 1:51 continues filming in the metro 🥳 2:27 “no filming in the metro” 👮 2:32 I’m back 🤫

“War does not determine who is right - only who is left.”

As someone with social anxiety these videos just blow my mind. Keeps filming after being told to stop, gets the taxi driver to wait in the car while he’s exploring buildings. Literally everything this man does would give me a full on panic attack but I absolutely love the almost innocent lack of social awareness. Yet he’s so likeable and friendly to the locals!

That Soviet mosaic in Bakhmut probably isn't there anymore.

Nobody saying anything about the cute girl filming for Bald! that was adorible!

My name is Christina and look what a beautiful town it is. Such a pride girl.

I hope Christina is doing well now

Bald is becoming true Russian "apologize for doing something wrong - and then just keeps doing it" :)

This is my hometown, I was born there and seeing him passing by my old, tore down neighborhood is heartbreaking.

This episode was starting to get really depressing until Bald got on the bus and that little girl took his camera and was pretending to be a vlogger. That was adorable and I hope she does well in life.

Can we just respect - There is no intro - There is no VPN/Raid shadow legends/man scaped sponsor - Bald giving the meat always, none of the fat!

Hi Baldy I'm an Indian living and working in Ukraine for last 26 years. All this Area which you had a chance to see ,, I have lived here in Donbas ( Luhansk , Donetsk ) some 10 years. People are simple and very warm hearted. Some of my friends have seen all the horror ,,,, flying rockets artillery shots and shit. A lot of people dies those years in 2014 ,, till date there are deaths almost everyday. I love the country ,,, even with all the hardships.

As a person who was born in Donetsk and forced to move to Dnipro, watching this video I'm literally crying.

That little girl on the bus is so sweet. I hope she is doing ok

That little girl saying ‘look how good it is here’ just melted my heart 💜 hearing her point of view was very insightful and got me thinking...

Keep them videos coming up like this I don’t need Netflix anymore😂

"when the owners fight their slaves suffer" heavy heavy stuff

"It's a good country" "Not anymore" That one hurt.

The destruction and despair of the region contrasted with the happiness and innocence of the little girl in the bus was moving. Awesome video, Bald!

This is why KZfaq can be great. Somehow stumbled upon this channel and now subscribed to it. Great videos into another world.

"As you see here the metro stations aren't really that fancy" Me use to New York metro stations: Wow look at those chandlers and the marble walls, that's really fancy 🤣🤣

Poignant that despite all the depression that a young girl shows that just life can be a beautiful thing!

Impressive to watch this video again, just after the fall of Avdiivka…

I googled "soviet mosaic" and the first image was just the shining glare of a bald head

Mr. "Bald's" videos are the most honest look at the real world. He is like a the photographer that captures the images everyone else misses because they are chasing the bright and beautiful baubles. His exploration of what lurks beyond the places the tourist buses go....brings the grim reality, as well as a better understanding of the good and bad in people....but certainly, the most honest exploration of understanding of the place and people he meets along his journey.

i saw it a year ago and watching it again now. incredible journalism in a troubled region.

Crazy to think that Bakhmut is now a pile of rubble and thousands of soldiers have died in that area.

"you don't speak Russian very well" lmao that hit Mr Bald right in the feelings

"You'll notice these metro stations arent that fancy" Compared to our metros in NYC, that's considered sophisticated.

This episode should be shown on BBC One at 7.30pm instead of the diarrhoea that people in the UK get served on their TVs. I don’t think I’ll ever forget some of the exchanges Ben had in this video. Just brilliant travel reporting. Give this man all the BAFTAs.

The whole video has a very sad vibe to it, up until the beautiful kid with her beautiful smile appear, she just brightened up the video instantly. Bless her! 22:15

Don’t go picking up discarded military equipment mate. It could be booby trapped even years later

I like how you say the metro don't look fancy , but come over to nyc and you'll see some stations that looks like a literal dumpster. Walls full of filthy and grime and the trains sometimes filled with rowdy homeless dudes that's ready to fight you.

*Train station literally made of pure marble* This guy: "You'll notice, the train stations here aren't very fancy"

It breaks my heart seeing all the old people struggling to survive, Big thumbs up for giving babushka some moolah my guy, that ₴₴₴ might have been pennies to you but let babushka eat for a few days and keep her warm

now they are fighting for Bahkmut. Indeed what a difference a year makes..

"When the Masters fight the Slaves suffer." Truer words have never been spoken...

Filming is not forbidden btw. Its a common mentality of my people that pisses me off. We call it синдром вахтера (Watchmen sindrom) when people of simple jobs takes on themselves responsibility that noone ask them to do. And when they do it they don't base on the book but their own visionary of things which is mostly very different from normal.

That clip of the little girl was truly saddening

You'd think he learnt his lesson from previous travels and wear real shoes. WELL...

When the owners fight the slaves suffer. There is some deep wisdom in that saying.

Это действительно исторические кадры. Никто до последнего не верил, что это случится.

The little kid on the bus damn near made me tear up. "Look how beautiful it is." crazy how positive people can stay in shitty situations but so negative living in the comforts of america/eu/etc.

Bejesus Ben, this is some of the most exciting and cutting edge journalism on the net. Even better, it has babushkas aplenty.

Dude visited all the locations they are fighting over. Should try to archive all the footage if possible. These areas will never be the same.