The Duran Podcast - Frontline update; Avdeyevka, Marinka and double taps w/ Patrick Lancaster

Episode Date: December 19, 2023

Frontline update; Avdeyevka, Marinka and double taps w/ Patrick Lancaster

All right, Alexander. All right, Patrick. Let's talk about what's going on in Ukraine, in the conflict zone. Patrick Lancaster, I don't think he needs any introduction. Alexander, everyone knows of Patrick's amazing work. And I will have all of Patrick's links in the description box down below, as well as a pinned comment. definitely search out Patrick and all of his incredible videos. Alexander, we have Patrick with us. Patrick is our eyes, our ears as to what is happening in Ukraine and in Dombas. So let's get this video started, Alexander. Absolutely.

And can I just say I will give a very brief introduction, Patrick. For me, is the outstanding English language war reporter. in this war in Ukraine. If I really want to know what's going on on the front lines, his videos are essential. We do commentary on the Duran. We have to work out who we can rely upon, who's giving the accurate and reliable information.

Patrick always does. And if you want to follow what's actually going on on the front lines, get a real feel of the battle. Go and follow, Patrick, see what he says, see where he goes, see the astonishing places he goes to and the commentary that he gives. So Patrick, last time we spoke, Ukraine was on the offensive. They were battling in all kinds of places. There was going to be the great offensive, the counter-offensive we were hearing so much about.

It looks like things have completely changed. It seems that Ukraine is now on the back foot. It looks like the Russians are advancing. Now, I say that if you go to the Russian ministry, of defence if you go to President Putin. They're not talking about that very much, but I presume that all this that we're hearing about Avdevka, where you have been, about Marinka, where you have also been, about the Russian advances there. I presume that this is indeed happening in the way that we see. So perhaps you could tell us a bit. Tell us, first of all, about what you know

about these two places, Mdhevka and Marenka, and what your understanding is of the situation there now. All righty, first of all, I want to say thanks for having me as always. It's always great to be on. I appreciate you helping me, you know, spread the word of what, you know, I see and what I feel needs to be shown to the world like you guys do. You know, just to give, you know, a little more. insight to the viewers just in case there's some new ones that don't really know too much

about where I am actually you know most of my reports it come out from the front line as you said on the Russian controlled side of the front line in the territory that in 2014 had a referendum the locals voted to break away from Ukraine and that's what preceded this nine-year war not a two year a year and a half war like the West would like people to think. But, and this is also, they had a referendum in September of last year to actually join Russia. So, you know, the local population consider these areas as part of Russia. And the West considers them part of Ukraine. Of course, Ukraine does. But, you know, the right of self-determination is something that should be considered. And the local population wants their

territory to be part of Russia. And by Russian law, now it is. So as far as the going back and forth, who's taking what? Yeah, as you said, the Ukrainian counteroffensive did not turn out the way they seemed. I mean, first they were blaming the delays on the weather with overgrown bushes and things, and now the winter and, you know, and all this, just more and more excuses by the Ukrainian authorities. but the fact is they didn't take any real territory, significant territory during their counter-offensive, and now, as you mentioned, Russia is taking territory. In Danyetsk, where I'm mainly based, in the northern west, you've got Evdivka, as you mentioned, southern west, you've got Merienka. Now, in Abdevka, there are steady gains, and it's slowly, the city has slowly been, starting to be encircled.

It's been a very slow process, but a constant process of Russia, taking more gains to encircle. It's a strategic part of Russia's war fighting is making a cauldron, as they call it, and just squeezing the enemy forces out of this cauldron and taking the territory. The same thing back into Bolsheba in 2015 and many other areas. So it's definitely gains being taken. by Russia and Evdivka and down to the south, Merriyanka, they have claimed total control of the city and some of the outlying areas. Now, this is a suburb of Dunez, which as well as Abduvka, been shelling the city of Degovsk from for years now, nine years. And now Russia has claimed

control of Mereinka, which before the war had over 10,000 population. Unfortunately, now there's basically no population except for military forces because through the fighting the city has just been completely destroyed. There's virtually nothing left besides ruins and trenches. But taking these areas, Russia taking Marienka and taking of Devka, protects or further protects the city of Dhanes, because in the last years, you know, years, but specifically every couple of months there's an uptake by Ukrainian forces attacking on the center of the city and other and many civilian areas of Danyetsk. And in this last couple of months, particularly the last weeks, they have been on another increase of the shelling of the city and the center.

And unfortunately this time they're changed, it seems the Ukrainian forces are changing their tactics a bit by doing double taps or basically firing once, waiting a little bit of time, and then giving the first responders, firefighters, ambulances, police, journalists, time to arrive on scene, and then firing again once or several times. And in the last month, there was three journalists injured because of these double taps, as they call, which, I mean, there's no question targeting first responders is a war crime condemned against the Geneva Convention. And three journalists were killed one seriously, excuse me, not killed, injured, one seriously injured. He had a piece of shrapnel from a cluster bomb that came from a United States,

Heimars, stuck in his liver and had to have it surgically removed. He was actually a friend of mine, one of my old cameramen that used to help me film. But luckily, he made it out alive, and the other two journalists that were injured at the same explosion also lived, thank goodness. Now, unfortunately, in the last several months, there has been two journalists, killed near Zaporosia, out of done yes, but it's still the same. They need to be mentioned because they were killed by purportedly Western supplied weapons as well. Now, these double taps, as they call it, continue to happen. It's not like a one-off or a two-off or a, you know,

a 50-off. This is something that happens, if not every day, every couple of days. Just the other day I was at a location where it was in the center of a residential area and it was actually just the management or control center for the city stoplights and that was hit directly by a United States high mars. Now luckily on that point there was not a double tap. It was a little bit nerve-wracking it being there because I'd actually been out of the front for a while with my family. But now I'm back and trying to show what I can.

But in that attack, unfortunately, there was two civilians killed and at least three injured. And just the day before that, there was a mechanics shop where they work on the city buses and a direct hit to some sort of artillery of mortar. It wasn't exactly clear at the time which one it was. It wasn't a High Mars that time, but it was suspected to be a 155 millimeter western-supplied weapon that hit just outside this mechanic shop and unfortunately some of the shrapnel flew about 15 meters and killed the worker there who was just trying to work or do his job as a mechanic. Now if we go past the exact area around Dignetsk, where they're taking the territory of

Marienko and Avivka, as we said, we go more north to the area which used to be a lot more in the news, but Bachmout or Artiyomus. And now, Russia has claimed a control of a large swath of territory just south and pushing out from Bakhmut. And I actually just came back from the front line in that direction where I was embedded with the Russian forces, particularly a volunteer battalion called the Wolves. And they were firing artillery on Ukrainian positions in support of the advancement of Russian forces. So they've got that report coming pretty soon. But those are the three areas I have the most knowledge on as far as the for sure advancements of Russian forces. So if there's any other...

Well, there's a lot to discuss here. A lot to discuss here, Patrick. Let me just reiterate the point you made. These double taps are in terms. tended to kill relief workers who in Donets City are overwhelmed. There were several firefighters and police killed as well. Exactly. Exactly. So this is deliberately targeting relief workers and civilians. That's the first.

I mean, I just want to make that absolutely clear so that there's no ambiguity about this. And as you correctly say, that is a war crime. Now, the second thing I wanted to ask is about these attacks. on Donets. It's not a question. It's a rhetorical question in a way. In the media in the West, we're reading all the time about the fact that Ukraine is suffering a shell shortage, that they're short of ammunition. But it seems that despite the fact that they are supposed to be short of ammunition, they still want to continue to target Donets City and to engage in double taps

which are killing civilians and which are intended to kill civilians. Now that is a pretty astonishing thing when you think about it. It suggests a kind of visceral anger against the people of Donetsk. I'm using my words carefully now which is most shocking

and incomprehensible to me. It shows a sense of priorities, which I find incredible. Is anything you want to say in response to that, Patrick, before we proceed? Well, you know, I think you've got a right on. I mean, there's no question, just a deliberate targeting of civilians in these double-depth.

And this goes on top of the just normal targeting of civilian areas. Now, and all these people that have died in these attacks deserve their stories to be told. I mean, like I said, I've been away from Dunboss for a little while with my family, but there was another really good journalist, Johnny from a Cafe Revolution, who's been on the scene, being while I'm gone, the only English reports coming out of Donetsk. And unfortunately, he was on the scene just over a month ago where a high mars hit a social welfare. administration building and the surrounding areas in the center. And he raced to the scene as he always does while I've been gone doing a great job

showing these reports. And he interviewed a young man, 19 years old, who was there just volunteering to help dig people out of the gravel in the rubble because there was people buried under the building that exploded around them, this young man. And he interviewed him. And of course, him and his journalist, was worried about the double tap and did his, the best work he could, and then left. And not two minutes later, another Haimars came, hit the same area, and killed that young man.

Actually, the young man purportedly jumped on his girlfriend to try to hide her from the explosion, and they were riddled with shrapnel. And he actually made it for another six days in the intensive care, and then was killed. And just one of many horrible situations. Can I just ask you, Patrick, if Avdafka is captured, I mean, Marinka, I understand, is largely, is captured. If Avdafka is captured, will that bring the Ukrainian artillery finally out of range? I should tell you, and I found this an absolutely chilling thing, that the London Times, which certainly knows what is going on, actually talked about it actually, was an article in which they said that Avdevka was a dagger pointing at Donetsk, and they said that

with approval. But if Avdevka is finally captured, will that finally mean that the shelling ends? It will definitely decrease the ability of Ukraine to fire on the center of Dynetsk in all of the regions of Dynetsk. But unfortunately, I don't think it'll stop it. I think they're going to be pushing as hard as they can, as much as they can. Because, yes, some of the shorter range, it will. But, you know, the longer range like the Haimars and other rockets like this, you know, it's going to be a while before Russia pushes that far out. So, unfortunately, Danyetsk is the tip of the spear. If D'evkin's not, Danyetsk is the tip of the spear going into Ukraine. And it's the most populated area in the Dunyetsk region. It's the capital of the region. So, you know, people are there

trying to be their strongest and to get their self-determination heard. And it's, you know, it's been almost 10 years now. May 26th, it'll be 10 years since the war started in Dunyetsk. And people don't realize that around the world, and they should. But we pray for the population of Dunyetsk. And I do everything I can to, as you guys do, to show the world what's really happening. Right. Now, in previous programs that we've done with you, you've described the situation in Avdavka, as it then was. You said that this is an incredibly heavily fortified, complex area. You talked about the fact that there were CCTV cameras, that there were pillboxes, that there were minefields. This is, from what I can understand, an extremely difficult place to capture.

Do you think, I mean, do you feel, rather than as I do, that it's actually going a bit faster than some people expect it? I mean, you're talking about this cauldron starting to develop. And can you give us a sense of how difficult you think the fighting there is likely to be, given, as I said, what an elaborate fortification system there is there? Well, on one hand, I mean, as far as the last times, the last month, Yeah, maybe it is starting to move on pretty well and fast, as people hoped. But if we looked at the long run since the beginning of last year, you know, many people thought things were going to go a lot faster, you know, even the U.S. General's three days Russia will be in Kiev.

You know, so, I mean, even myself in one of my early reports when this whole thing started again. I said, oh, today's going to be the last day. Danyetsk is a front-line city, and boy, was I wrong. So as far as the fortifications, yeah, I mean, one thing we didn't take into account at first or me personally, that, yeah, Ukraine had eight years of war to fortify these areas to get things ready, just like in Mariupil, Azov had eight years to get Maripal ready to put all the supplies and ammunition down in the catacombs underneath the Azov and Illicha plants just to get in because they knew they were going to go the long haul. So, I mean, it's, it's, yeah, they're very built up and it's difficult for Russian forces, not as easy as they thought it was going to be.

So it is what it is. I've heard a story. I've heard reports, not stories, reports that most of the soldiers, Russian soldiers who are fighting in Avdaevka are actually local people. They are people from Dombas and that their local brigades and that this is, you know, that they're particularly motivated because this is not just their territory, but it's, you know, Donetsk is their city. from your knowledge is that true are they indeed the local people who are fighting to you know to take control of of dei fka to you know push the Ukrainians back from Darnetsk yeah definitely there is a lot of locals fighting just like they i mean they most of them had been fighting for the

last many years maybe not all the whole nine years but i mean for between 2014 and 2002 and you know, 99. something percent of the fighters in Dunbass were locals. And now you can find many battalions and groups that are mainly consisting of locals. I don't want to say exactly too many different names of the groups, just for, you know, I think we can understand. Absolutely. But there are many groups that are fully locals, many groups that are partially, and many that are volunteers. and many that are volunteers from different countries,

specifically, Salthosetia, Abkhazia, Armenians fighting, many from South America, France. Yeah, so, I mean, a lot of locals, and a lot of Russians and others as well. Right. Can I just ask now, because we've asked this before in previous programmes. I mean, the Russians now have seen the offensive off, the Ukrainian offensive of. They're now pushing forward. You've been in the front lines recently. You were with this group

near Bachmert. I mean, what is your sense of the morale of the soldiers at the moment? Is it high? Or is it getting higher? Is it getting stronger? Are they feeling more confident? I mean, from what I could understand from your previous programs, it was always pretty firm. I mean, There was never any real sense of a wobble, but are they feeling more optimistic now? They are feeling like the end of the war might be coming sooner than they thought it was going to be in the last times. Of course, the events with Israel and Palestine and the funds getting funneled to Israel are changing the situation. And even the small soldiers understand this, as well as the... the top brass.

And so, and with the advances, things seem to be looking up. Now, people aren't sure exactly what the end is going to be. I mean, when I ask these soldiers, what's going to be happening next? They say, well, our victory. I say, well, okay, well, what is that victory? And they, you know, the overlying thing is they say, well, people are going to stop dying. And we're going to have peace.

And, you know, they kind of stay away from where that line is going to be. But as I say, you know, all the time, we know where the minimum line is. The minimum line of the next way possible for peace is for Russia to be in control of what is by Russian law legally considered Russia. And that's all of the what was what is considered by Ukraine and the West. Lugansk region, Danyets region, Zaporosia, and her son. All of those territories. That is the minimum that by Russian law, Russia can stop this war, regardless of peace talks.

There's no way Russian could give up what is legally part of Russia by Russian law. So that's the minimum it's going to go. Now, is it going to go all the way to Transnistria? Who knows? They are all the way to Kiev? You know, I think there's only a couple people in there. the world that might know that right now. But we'll have to be spectators and see and report on where it ends up and where it stops.

I didn't know whether you saw it, but there was a joke that Putin made when he met with some Russian war reporters. He said, you know, will we go to Kiev? Well, I know the answer, but I'm not telling. He made a joke about it. But anyway. Something like that, yeah, for sure. But can we turn to Bachma?

Because, you know, this has been, from what? I can tell. I mean, in some ways, the toughest and bloodiest battle of the whole war up to now. I mean, I've been looking at what the Russian Ministry of Defense gives as casualty figures. And, I mean, they've been absolutely horrific. I mean, of course, they're giving Ukrainian casualty figures. But even during the summer, when, you know, Ukraine was attacking Zaporosia, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, it was around Bahamut that the Ukrainians were taking. the biggest losses. There's been a lot of talk recently that the Russians are moving towards this town, Chasov Yard, which is to the west of Ahmed. Whilst you were there, I mean, did you get any

sense of that? Were people talking about this? Or is this just again still people pushing forward, that there is this sense that, you know, they're pushing people away from Bachmert, that the men on the ground don't yet know what the ultimate objective of this battle is. Yeah, I mean, they're taken one day at a time. They're trying to stay alive and trying to push forward and trying to follow their orders to the best of their abilities. So, I mean, they're concentrating on just moving forward and going from there.

Is where they're going to end up, you know, they're not sure yet. Yeah, it's not their business. There's also reports now that some ex-Vagner fighters are now back in Bahmutt, especially on the southwest. Did you hear anything about that or see anything about that, not Wagner as such, but volunteer units based around Wagner fighters have returned? Was there any sign of that that you saw? Well, I could say I noticed a few Wagner patches. Now that could signify that they were former members of Wagner or that could that could signify they're just fans of Wagner. I think they can make her own conclusions.

Yes. Are these the two biggest areas of the fighting at the moment? Of Dhevka, Marinka, the area around Donetsk and Bachmud. Is that where the toughest fighting is happening? Because certainly that's my impression. Yeah, I mean, they're definitely on the top. There's a few areas up north in the Luganskin, Harkov direction, that are getting going. But, again, I haven't been up there myself yet.

Hopefully, in the near future, I'll be able to go up there and, you know, get a little more good insight on the situation there. But for my knowledge, yeah, these are the three hotspots. Marinka, Evdivka and Bachmoud. Can you tell us a bit about Marinka? Because I think you've been there as well and you basically know the layout a bit there. I mean, why did this place take such a long time to capture also? Because this battle has been underway for 20 months, as I understand it.

I mean, what was it specific to Marinka that made it such a tough place to capture? tougher than Bachmert or possibly of Defker as well? You know, yeah, I've been on the edge, and I've had actually many close people that I trust that were fighting there. And they said that just, you know, the Ukrainians were fighting very hard

and, you know, didn't want to give an inch, you know, for quite a while because, you know, an area that they were using is a strategic firing position just like of Devka. And, you know, I'm not one of these that really jumps on the conspiracies and all these really far out there things, but I can tell you what I've been told by people that I trust that were fighting for control of Merriyanka for the Russian forces. They told me that in many instances they would have,

Ukrainian soldiers just running at them from the line trying to take their positions and it appeared to them that they were under the influence of some sort of mind-altering substance to kind of get them going a little bit more.

You know, I try to stay away from that type of thing if I, you know, showing, you know, reporting that unless I know for sure. And I, you know, And the only thing less than seeing it with my own eyes is having people I trust tell me they're sure that they saw Ukrainian soldiers that were using narcotics to advance their fighting abilities. And they said, it was working in some cases, you know. I mean, obviously it didn't work long enough. Yeah.

I mean, I would just make an observation about that. I mean, I too don't know to what extent this is actually happening in this war. But it has happened in other wars. I mean, you've been in the Middle East, and you know that some of the organisations, ISIS, for example, apparently did do that there. And I think it's well established that in the Second World War, it's not well established,

it is conclusively known that the Germans regularly gave amphetamines to their soldiers. That was in the Second World War. So, you know, it's not as if this kind of thing would not be, you know, would be unprecedented or new. But let's move on from that because, listen, we don't have the facts. So why did the Ukrainians hold on to Maninka for so long? Is it again because it's so close to Donetsk?

Were they shelling Donetsk from there? And again, I understand that this is perhaps more a strategic thing. Lots of stories that we're reading in all kinds of places that Maninka is the lynch bin of some kind of fortification situation. and that if Marinka is finally captured, other areas will start to be cut off from each other and it will make it easier for the Russians to capture them. I mean, did you hear anybody on the front lines discuss this at all?

Why the Ukrainians made such a thing of trying to hold on to Marinka? Well, I mean, I think, you know, when there's these, you know, key places that are almost like trophies. I mean it goes all the way back to the Danyetsk airport. The Danyetsk airport was this trophy that the two sides one fighting from the old terminal, one fighting

from the new terminal, going against each other in 2014 and 15. And it was just this prize, a morale thing for the people, for the locals of Danyetsk. And when they finally got the airport, it was such a big boost to the morale of the people

and the soldiers. Now, is that the, you know, we saw that again with, um, with Bachmutes. And, you know, when Russia took that, it was a big thing. Now, there was also stories, oh, is it this strategic? How strategic is it? Is it the path to Kramatorsk? You know, you, you know, I'm not a professional enough soldier. It wasn't in the military long enough to understand the full,

uh, strategic advances of different things. but I can tell you, Merrienka, you know, it's, as I said, used to attack the city. It's a key fighting area to move on to Donetsch as of Devka is. So, I mean, that's to best my ability, what I can say. Yeah, I understand. Can I just ask about the mood in Donetsk itself amongst the civilian people? Because, as you correctly said, they've been in a state of war now for nine years. And pretty grim wall as well.

They've had the Ukrainians parked just close to their city. You know, the Times calling Avdewka, the dagger pointing at the heart of Donetsk. So what is the mood now? Because were they nervous during the summer when Ukraine was launching its offensive? Are they more optimistic now? Do they sense there that finally the war is moving towards. victorious conclusion? Is there uplift in morale?

What is happening? Well, what I can say, you know, just a little insight for the people that might not really have a good understanding of like the situation, because if there's people watching here that might be just be relying on the Western media, they might think, oh,

you know, Ukraine is coming to save the people of Danyetsk from the big bad Russians. But the fact is, the local population of Danyetsk hates the Ukrainian government and because every local, every civilian knows one of their family members

or one of their close friends that has been either killed or seriously injured by Ukraine shelling civilian areas and targeting the civilians in what the locals call terrorist attacks on the local population.

So if anybody's watch this, don't get confused. The local population is not waiting for Ukraine to come save them. They're waiting for Russia to save them from the daily attacks by Ukrainian forces. And that's what they've been doing for the last nine years. Now, right now, they're, they see a little bit coming, but they don't believe what's happening yet. I mean, of course, you know, at the beginning of 2002, there was a huge uplift in morale thinking, oh, the war is going to stop, Russia's going to move in, you know, blazed through everything. And then morale came down a bit when it didn't go as fast as everyone thought.

So now people are being morally cautious and, you know, just waiting for something really concrete. Are we moving on this? What's going to happen? But I can say the people and the soldiers, as I said, They have a feeling that the war is not going to last as long as they thought it was a few months ago. When that's going to end, they don't know. No, Russia's going to have elections in a few months. I mean, in March, there's presidential elections in Russia.

And, of course, Donetsk is also now part of Russia, as far as Russian law and constitution and the feelings of its people are concerned. So they will be participating in those elections. Now, do people worry about that? Do they think that as the elections get underway, Ukraine is going to do everything it possibly can to disrupt them? I mean, will there be more shelling? Will there be more things left of that kind? And are people nonetheless intending to vote in these elections?

Because I presume that there will be a big effort made to try to organize elections in Dornetsk. And of course, we've had other elections. We had that referendum last year, for example, in Dornetsk. So we see that they can be organized even in times of war. But, I mean, how do people feel about the elections? Do they look forward to them? Are they nervous about them because of what the Ukrainians might do?

Is the general confidence and optimism? What is your sense about the elections? Well, as far as the ability to have safe elections, I mean, every day there's attacks. sometimes it's kind of hard to tell is Donets being targeted just because it's a Russian holiday like Easter because on Easter last year there was many killed two days ago when Putin had his worldwide question and answer

there was like I mentioned the management streetlight center hits and two killed there were many drones flown from Ukrainian territory over the city, dropping ammunition on civilian areas. Many people injured that day. And as well, in the evening, three long-range rockets launched on Mariupil for the first time in a while. So, you know, with the Ukraine trying to make a point because of Putin's little Q&A holiday, maybe, or maybe it's just because they just decided to, you know, open up that day. Will there be a tax on election day?

100% there will be, because there's a tax every day. Will it be a specific increase just because of the election? Unfortunately, probably. So as far as what the people think about the elections, they're going to be overwhelmingly happy to vote in the Russian elections again. and the safety of the elections is going to be helped because basically now that it's war for the last few elections they have a system where there's mobile election centers that go out to the different areas of the city and the suburbs and other villages where they let people

vote at the mobile station and then on the last day the elections go for about five days and then there's one main day. And then on last day, people can come who didn't have a chance to go to the mobile stations to the actual schools and gyms and whatnot to have the normal way you stand there with the boxes. But of course, I'll be covering that and so other channels like Cafrey Revolution and things.

I definitely recommend people check out their channel on YouTube and Telegram. So they put out a good lot work too. Patrick, am I right in thinking that this is the first time that Donbas, Donetsk, is participating in Russian elections since the end of the Soviet Union. I mean, they've had local elections, they've had the referendum that happened last year. But this is the first time that they are participating in an actual Russian election, an election to elect the bodies of power in Moscow. in this case the president himself.

And how do people feel about this? I mean, for the first time, they can vote for, if I'm right about this, they can vote for the president of Russia and he's in effect their president. They're voting for their own president. I mean, what is the sentiment about this in Donets?

Do people think about that? Yes, you're, you're, there's a little, you're right and there's a little, things I can add to this. So yes, this is the first time they're going to be able to vote for their presidents, the president of Russia, and they're going to be very happy to do it. And as far as a Russian election, the first technical Russian election was, as you said, the regional elections, were they able to regionally vote? But yes, this is the first time they're going to be able to vote for the power in Moscow as running their parts of.

of Russia. And they're very happy to do it. I suppose I should ask this question, because if I don't, people will wonder why. I mean, who are they going to vote for? Are they going to vote for Putin overwhelmingly? Why are they going to vote for someone else? Yeah, there's, I mean, there's no question that the overwhelming population of these areas are going to be voting for Putin. I think the last I heard, The independent third party estimates were in polls were 80% for Putin overall Russia, but I would have to think the Dunbos would probably be about over 95%, I would think.

Just in my opinion of the people, the locals I see, the soldiers I see, and just talk to them about what they think. I would think, you know, well over 95%. 95 is a conservative estimates, I think. So one last question for me, and I'm going to answer to the actual war. Now, lots of things now in the Western media about Ukraine being short of tanks, ammunition, drones,

you name it, they're supposedly short of it. What about on the Russian side, the soldiers that you meet? I mean, obviously they would obviously like more of everything. I mean, you know, that's what soldiers will always want. But do they feel that they're getting basically what they need? I mean, you know, in terms of supplies, not just weapons, but, you know, medical supplies, food, uniforms, water, all the things that soldiers need.

I mean, are they properly supplied in this war? The Russian soldiers. Well, I mean, as far as the weaponry, you know, I show up at an artillery battery positions and go out with them and they've got enough to fire. I mean, beyond, you know, the logistical setup, I mean, I know the Russian military, they, I forget offhand what it's called, but their system of supplying is more like a take and deliver. Take and deliver. You don't really, didn't really have to request it so much.

It's just they've got their system is based on. delivering instead of waiting for the request. You know, it's hard to say. I mean, I think the biggest thing is, you know, there is movement on the front line, so they've got enough to make some sort of movements. Yeah. Well, Patrick, I found that most, a fantastic program from my part. This is, I mean, I don't have anything specific more to ask, but is there anything you

particularly want to say yourself and then we'll hand over to Alex. No, is there anything you want to say, Patrick, before we end the video? Yes. Yeah. Well, I think for people out there who aren't really that, maybe this is something new that you're hearing, you know, do some research. Don't just watch one source. Don't just watch one side.

Watch reports from both sides of the line. Don't just watch your Western media. Watch, you know, bloggers from both sides, if you can find them. Watch me. Watch the Duran. Watch redacted. Watch Cafe Revolution and Donets. Watch as many different sources to get as much information as you can

and educate yourself on what the real situation is. Because not one source is going to be able to tell you everything you know. You need to get as much information from as many different sources as possible. to even get a little bit of understanding of what's really happening. And don't fully believe anyone. And as far as my work, you know, I'm pushing on back in Dunbos. I'm going to keep on. And as always, I'm totally independent and crowdfunded.

You know, I might do collaborations with other channels, but I make a point to only be supported by my viewers. So if people would like, they could support me on, the site Buy Me a Coffee, and I think we could put the link in the description maybe. And of course, follow me on YouTube, Patrick Lancaster, Patrick Lancaster News today. Same on Twitter, Telegram, Rumble, of course, you know, just in case. So, yeah, that's about it. Thanks for having me, guys, and hope the viewers got something out of it. You all, there certainly will. And so have we, by the way. Patrick Lancaster, thank you again.

may I take this opportunity, by the way. Christmas, New Year, holidays are coming up. You won't be much on holiday, but can I, in any event, wish you season's greetings. And, of course, in the Russian world, they celebrate Christmas. I think it's on the 12th of January. But anyway, happy Christmas to all. Seven.

Sorry? Seventh, seventh, seventh. Thank you very much. Whatever. You're quite right. It's 12. That's right. It's 12 days off.

But anyway, happy Christmas to everybody also in Dombas. Yeah, Merry Christmas. Happy to- Stay safe, Patrick. Stay safe, absolutely.