In the movie several tanks were filmed, including the real T-34 which was taken down during WWII. To prepare for the film, the tank was restored, including repair of the engine which was brought up to combat status. Also, the 1941 wintertime camouflage was recreated (nicknamed the "winter forest").
Art director Konstantin Pakhotin built an entire village in a field near the village of Strelkovka, Kaluga Region. Although the houses would be destroyed at the very beginning of the film, each has its own particular style and carved decorations. The director also carefully selected props which helped the local population.
Although there's no documentary confirmation of a Soviet tank's escape from a German concentration camp, there was a confirmed successful escape of Soviet imprisoned pilots, led by Michael Devyataev in a German bomber in February 1945. The fact is well-known in SU/Russia and was also made into the movie Devyatayev (2021).
Director and scriptwriter Aleksey Sidorov set the task "to tell the story of the war in such a way as to captivate the young and not cause controversy among those who still keep the Great Patriotic War in their memory".