Akhmed is a compassionate village doctor from Eldár who considers himself a failure, having scraped the bottom of his medical school class after skipping lectures to attend art courses. Despite his lack of medical prowess, he possesses a rare talent for drawing portraits, which he uses to memorialize missing villagers. He cares diligently for his bedridden wife while risking his own safety to rescue his neighbor's young daughter from the local authorities.

Born Sofia Andreyevna Rabina, Sonja is a brilliant, no-nonsense surgeon running a heavily damaged hospital in Volchansk. She abandoned a prestigious medical fellowship in London to return to Chechnya in search of her missing sister. Working with extremely limited supplies and a skeleton crew, she maintains a harsh, emotionally detached exterior to cope with the daily traumas of a war zone.

Havaa is a bright, curious eight-year-old girl from the village of Eldár. Following the capture of her father, she escapes to Volchansk with a suitcase filled with personal souvenirs rather than practical survival items. She possesses a keen interest in science and closely observes the adults around her, questioning the traditional gender roles placed upon women in her society.

Khassan is an elderly World War II veteran and lifelong historian living in Eldár. He has spent decades attempting to publish a 3,000-page historical manuscript about Chechnya, constantly rewriting it to appease shifting political regimes. Isolated from the village due to his son's actions, he spends his days caring for local stray dogs, relying on them for companionship.

Dokka is a generous villager and an exceptionally skilled chess player who rarely loses a match. He frequently provides shelter for displaced Chechen refugees passing through the region, accepting small trinkets as payment, which he gives to his young daughter. His involvement in smuggling weapons eventually leads to brutal torture that costs him his fingers.

Ramzan is an ostracized villager who acts as an informant for the Federalist soldiers. Having endured unspeakable torture during a previous imprisonment at the Landfill, he chooses survival and resources over loyalty, trading names for food and diabetes medication for his father. His actions cause his entire community to permanently shun him.

Natasha is Sonja's younger sister, originally known in their youth as the more beautiful and popular sibling. After attempting to escape to the West, she was trafficked into prostitution and developed a severe heroin addiction. She returned to Volchansk carrying intense trauma and briefly assisted in the hospital's maternity ward before vanishing again.

Ula is Akhmed's bedridden wife who has been suffering from an intense illness for two years. Her husband cares for her daily, preparing her meals and bathing her, though he privately suspects her debilitating pain stems from psychological trauma rather than a physical ailment.

Deshi is a pragmatic, elderly nurse maintaining order in the severely understaffed Volchansk hospital. She helps manage the laundry and trauma wards, bringing a blunt, grounded perspective to the daily horrors she faces alongside Sonja.

Maali is Deshi's twin sister and a fellow nurse at the Volchansk hospital. She assists in treating the massive influx of wounded civilians and rebels, standing by her sister during the chaotic early days of the conflict.

Mirza is a Chechen woman who meets Khassan following the deportation of their people. They share a brief, passionate connection that leaves a lasting impact on Khassan, though she eventually marries another man and raises a family in Chechnya.

Brendan is a Scottish man living in London who was engaged to Sonja during her medical fellowship. He represents the safe, comfortable life she abandons to return to the active war zone in Chechnya.