The Duran Podcast - Ukraine War ZERO line, lethal drone warfare w/ João Quaresma

Episode Date: March 22, 2026

Ukraine War ZERO line, lethal drone warfare w/ João Quaresma

All right, Alexander, we are here with Joao Karasma. Joao, before we get started, where can people follow your work? Well, people can follow my work on Instagram and Facebook, essentially, but also on YouTube. I have a page called Odimira Lever Geopolitics, which is my older page, but I've created a recent one, which is called Eastern Express. Of course, the name is translated to Portuguese, Express du Leic. I'll give you the links so you can then share with the people. Yes, we will have those links in the description box, and I will also add them as a pin comment. So Alexander Joua, who is in who was recently on the front lines.

He was recently on the front lines. That is what we will discuss today. Indeed, and in the front lines in the area of the special military operation, but also I believe in Russia where there were battles. And of course, it's particularly interesting and very, very wonderful for us that we have Jois here today on our program. Because, of course, if you listen to the narratives, if you listen to the narratives that are spun and are published all over the British media, there's been absolutely nothing happening on the front lines except that Ukraine has been successful and it has been gaining ground. I actually read on the Institute at the Study of War that the Ukrainians are regaining.

territory again and doing so at great speeds and that they are winning battles and that they are killing large numbers of Russians and that the Russians are on the back foot right across the front lines. Well, that's one view. But of course, Joie has been there. He's actually seen the situation. He can tell us what is actually going on. And there is no substitute for someone who's actually been there. So, Jouard, I know you've been to many places. Do you want to tell us, first of all, which places? And then maybe we can go through them one by one

and discuss them in a little bit more detail. Of course. Yeah, I've focused this trip on both frontline and rear because it was important for me to understand some of the aspects of the rear, to understand better what's going on on the front line. As you know, they will not take me, although I would wish to zero line

because that would be a little bit too much for the safety and we don't want to have any civilian casualties on zero line but I'm pretty comfortable hanging in the dugouts in positions with the troops and having the chance to talk to them there

and so I started this trip by going first to the Caucasus Mountains where I found a school that was set up there. Of course I won't disclose the exact location for obvious reasons. And this school actually trains people for operation and construction of drones. And I was amazed with the technology that managed to set up there and the demonstrations that I could watch about some of these drones.

I mean, for example, I published this one on my Instagram. They were developing a prototype for an intercepted drone because it's very important. at the front lines and especially the front lines there are near civilian areas to have numerous and effective and the best cost-effective weapons to intercept the enemy drones, which are actually increasing their attacks on Russian territory. And so this was a big concern. And so there was a network of schools created throughout many regions of Russia. We had access to this one, they were kind enough to be interested in our visit there to show us around. Of course, we always have to be careful when you go to this positions, not to film this or in that angle,

so it doesn't get jail located, and then some storm shadow missile arrives there. So I started my trip there. And then we went up to Lugansk region in Liman direction, where I actually stayed with the troops and slapped there. with the troops. And there were two kinds of units stationed there. There was a drone, a specialized unit and also a medical unit staying there. And I could actually again see the, an underground laboratory for drones, which I was just, I dropped my jaw as I found that out that I could not imagine that such thing could be developed in the trenches. I already knew that they would do such things. But this is the first time that I see an actual lab with specialists working on it.

I mean, where you have everything organized, all the machines, all the assembly line, all the spare parts, well organized. I will publish image of all of this. It's something that I can do as long as I don't reveal identities of people and whatnot. And so I could establish the connection and the stages for the specialization for the use of such weapons, which, by the way, is the weapon, and I already said it last time, it continues to be the most important weapon in this war. Of course, we have many levels of drones. We have, since the little FPV drone to kill individual soldiers to the Garand drone,

those ones are actually produced in factories. And we actually have seen many of them flying over us. us, both Gerberra drones and Garand drones flying over us in the direction of Karkov region. And then we went to Kursk region where I went to check out the direction from Suja. I have tried to do that in the past. But the sky, they always told me that the sky is too thick there, meaning that there were too many enemy drones flying there for you to be safe. And this time we went there and we were like,

confident because the weather was not that good. And when we got there, the weather simply changed. It was a clear sky. And they were reluctant to go with us because although Suja has been liberated a while ago, that continues to be one of the main roads to supply of the Sumi region, of the troops, the group, the north group troops that are in the Sumer region. And so that is the typical road where you travel, completely covered with nets against drones and you find a lot of strikes of FPV everywhere and you find new damage vehicles. And they don't care if it's civilian or military.

Any vehicle that goes onto that road is subject of attack. But we went there anyway and we convinced them to take us there. They gave us briefing us on precautions, what we should do if the car stops immediately and whatnot. And also when we got to Soudja, what we should do if we hear this characteristic sound of drones, now that I know very well how they sound. Because after the demonstrations that I saw, I always ask this question.

There are so many advanced weapons and shotguns and all kinds of shots in ammunitions that soldiers can use. And how come it's so difficult to shoot drones? such a fragile machine. And when I saw these drones at work, I now completely understand the difficulty that they have. These are machines from hell. And even the noise really gets into your nerves.

And they go from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in fractions, infractions. So it's really important. It's really difficult to shoot them down. And they always tell me this. And I heard many accounts from different soldiers in different parts of the front lines. Don't try to shoot it. Hide the best you can from them.

Trying to shoot them is like it's the last resort that you have. It's best that you don't get noticed. And then it's best that you find the best cover. Because they are fragile, only even a small branch of a tree. or a small bush is enough to stop them. So this is the main focus of the troops. Now everyone is unanimous when they answer what is the biggest danger from the enemy on the battlefield

and it continues to be drones. And therefore, they are developing schools everywhere. Everyone is learning. And very important, these schools are open to everyone. It's not just because you volunteer for the army that you can access this school. You can actually be a civilian and be interested and take this course. At the end of the course, you can choose to enlist in the army. And then you'll get further practice and further training.

But these schools are open to everyone. This indicates the necessity and the transformation of the characteristics of the battlefield. Can I ask you, these people are? Are they younger people? Are they boys and girls, if they are younger people? I mean, are, yes. Yes. I mean, are they the younger people, people perhaps who already have some experience recreationally with drones, of which there are lots of them, at least in England and Germany, where I know.

Is it that sort of person who enlists? So in this school that I visited, the majority of the students of women, young. women, mostly. And the most expert, one of the most expert instructors they had was a very young man in his early 20s. And he gave me a demonstration of how to operate an FPV drone. And he was just, they have this, you know, they even use this kind of tracks with obstacles that they have to go underneath and true and whatnot. And that makes them, they are forced to make, they are forced to make very sharp maneuvers in very fast time. And so they train, they do this kind of training.

So, yeah, at this school, there were only young people and mostly women. And I asked, I had the chance, I interviewed some of them. I always tried to do this. Even if they don't want to record, I make the interview without recording from my own recollection so I can actually share that information. This is also very important. Sometimes the best information comes from this non-recorded interviews because people feel loose. They know they are not being recorded, you know.

So they tell everything. They tell every detail and every secret. It's very important to actually understand the reality. And so some of these people were still indecisive. They didn't know if they wanted to join the military or not. They were still there learning. But that's good. I mean, they have the chance to decide.

and has we often hear in Western propaganda that people here are also being dragged and forced into the military. I mean, that's obviously in joke when you are here watching it. Tell us about how these, because you said it's a school, but it also seems to be a laboratory or design place as well and that they are designing different systems to counter drones. Are you able to tell us anything about that? I mean, do they have laboratories, you know, specific laboratories?

And do they have manufacturing facilities as well? And again, I mean, obviously don't tell us what you can't tell us. But can you tell us which overall agency operates this? Is it the Defense Ministry? is it the economics ministry? Is it part of the military system? Is it part of the civilian system? Or is there sometimes, as I know, that can be in Russia,

a crossover between the two? It's a crossover. And in this particular, I can tell you every detail about this. In this particular school, this was an initiative of the local government of the region where the school is. And so they set up a school.

And these schools are different. They have different kind of ways of being administered throughout Russia. This specific one was free. You can actually go there for free. And the condition was there was a little incentive in the end that if you sign a contract, you won't have to, it's completely free. You won't have to pay for your course. If you finish it, but don't sign a contract, you have to pay a small fee.

But it's nothing that these people couldn't handle easily. because it's actually not very long course, it's about one month, but it's very intensive. And about the facility. So they have classrooms with the younger students, they have this special classroom only with simulators. So they have to prove themselves on the simulators before they start to fly the real thing. This is very important. They have theoretical classes about aerodynamics and all this physics from flight. It's really a flight school, if you think about it there.

And then they have these laboratories that I use for maintenance and construction of drones and developing. They have 3D printers to print the, for example, to design the propellers, the most suitable propeller for the most suitable purpose of this drone. You have FPV drones, as everyone knows about. They have to be maneuverable, but they were developing their very important drone, which is the interceptor drone that I just mentioned. And so they built it all from scratch. They built the body of the drone with a 3D printer. They assemble all the engines.

They calibrate the RPMs which each engine make in order to maneuver this or that way. And so, yeah, and they also study tactics. Then they have, when they're already managed to assemble a drone, to fly a drone, to repair a drone, because everyone has to learn a little bit of everything. They specialize. But I was told that the ideal team, as they work in pairs mostly, it's one operator and a maintenance guy, which can also operate.

They can also switch functions in case one gets wounded and whatnot. So they have the set up tents in the middle of a dense forest in the mountains. It's really a beautiful scenario there. It's really wonderful. We had the chance to, I went there for more than one day, and we had the chance to have lunch there and to watch their day-to-day lives there. And it was very, very interesting that when you see it from outside, it looks just like a normal camp.

And when you get in those tents, It's like magic is happening there. Tell us about the other school that you saw, or is the other facility that you saw, which was in the sort of closer to the front lines, the trenches. I mean, was this very different place? I mean, obviously less relaxed. Was it older people, perhaps, more men?

And what exactly was taught there? And what did it do? I mean, it's, you said that they do repairs, and maintenance and things of that kind, but it's not a training school in the same way. No, it's actually, they do training there as well, because when they get, but there, but that position is a military position. So whatever they do there, it's with, with the purpose of the battlefield that they have it, that they have nearby in mind. And so it's different, completely different environment from this school in the mountains of the Caucasus, where you have

civilians there. And these are actually military, experienced military. Most of them, they set these dugouts and positions in a slightly rear position, so they are inside of the woods always. So they are safer from enemy drones and enemy objects, flying objects, be it drones, And here they developed only having in mind what they will have to deal there in the future. And it's really flexible because they had this laboratory in the ground, like I said, where they build drones themselves and test them there.

And these drones are like, if they need a drone that you know that you have a target at certain distance. So your common drones are not reaching there. you will create a drone to strike the target that you want. And this can be done actually in very little time. They can just bring a normal drone, do whatever they changes they have to do, and adapt it. And maybe take, I won't lie if I say that they can do it between half an hour and one hour. This is really, this strike me as a big surprise because things, but after talking to them, and then we had the chance like to relax

and I won't say drink alcohol because that's strictly forbidden but we had a non-alcoholic drinks and we had the chance to chat and have lunch in the dugout where we slept. So I had this conversations with them and they were really

how to say they were really focused on this improvement of these machines because they say this is the best work done here will save many lives at the fronts. And this is what these people focus more. Because it's war. And we can't say, we know Ukrainians are in bad sheets,

but Russians also die. And these guys, all of them have comrades that have died or that are maimed, they're missing some limb and they are wounded and whatnot. And so they really focus on this, the best they can. It's really an amazing thing to see. What was the mood amongst them? I mean, are they confident? Are they depressed? Do they feel that they're making progress in what they're doing, or do they feel that on the contrary, what they're doing is just holding back a situation

which is deteriorating? Because, you know, I've seen many people discuss this for many different angles. What was your impression? Well, the, the, the, I always ask this question to them. What is your, what's going on back in Zero Line where you just came back? What's going on there? And they say, well, Zero Line is often loud. That's what they say. But the answer is unanimous.

And I got this answer months ago and I still have the same answer. It's like, they will never beat us. We are Russians. We always get this. So the Russians, they really, can take a lot. Even if they, I asked them if they suffered a lot when they were disconnected from Starlink, for example.

I'm sure you heard the story. And for me, it was, I was eager to know the accounts from the troops about this. And all of them said, yes, this caused trouble. This caused extra casualties. But one of the guys that I interviewed told me, we adapted in 24 hours. And we went on. It is like that. It's like no one has the slightest sense.

Even when we are in close quarters, no one, no commander is listening, no superior is listening. I never had such account of someone saying, oh, I think this is not going well or anything, the slightest. And you really please take my word for it because I'm here for the truth. I'm not here to make any kind of propaganda. I would say so if I would find such people because it's important. I mean, we're talking about reality here. We're not talking about constructing any fairy tale narrative. It's hard.

The battlefield is very hard. And you can, like I said, I visited medical units. And also this medical component is unit. I've interviewed one of the medics there. And he was, I mean, I could see in his words that he was bitter. And this was maybe the biggest change that I found in attitude. that when I asked him if he would save Ukrainians, wounded Ukrainians just the same, he was a little bit reluctant, he answered me like this.

If it was back in 2024, 23, I would say yes. Right now, the Russians take priority. So this tells a lot. He wouldn't go into any more detail. What did you find about the situation in the northern places that you went to in Sousja, in Kursk? You said that the Sousja is a supply route for the Russian forces in Sumi region. I mean, did you see lots of military activity? Again, I don't want you to say more than you can, you feel you can.

But is this, because again, there's a lot of debate about this, whether this is a secondary theater, whether the Russian military are perhaps using it to distract the Ukrainians or whether it's a primary theatre. There's lots of arguments and discussions about this. Did you feel when you were there that this was actually a place that was being given resources and priority? Or what was your sense altogether? There are a significant amount of resources given to this.

The group that is working on this sector, it's the Northern Group. And actually, I want to give big thanks to them because they were the ones who took care of our safety there and they were very professional at doing it. So big thanks to the Northern Group from Portugal. And you judge, as I go throughout the border from Donbos to Kursk, you see the military activity on the roads. That's where you see it more. You see the number of columns of trucks carrying stuff, the number of trucks carrying.

the number of trucks carrying, even heavy equipment like tanks or like anti-air systems. You see all of this traffic on the roads. And there in Sujja, you can see that's a really hot area. Although the general feeling there from the population and even from some military back in the rear is that they need to create that buffer zone for the safety of the Kusk region. And that seems to me to be the primary objective there. It is a very hot area. Like I said, Suja itself is still subject of a lot of flight

because they know their troops go through there. And so they often have drone attacks in that area. And what I could see from Suja was very interesting. For the first time in a war-torn town, and I have been in many, I've been in Lisztiansk and other towns like this, completely destroyed by the war. First time in the war torn town, I saw inscriptions, graffities, all over the walls in English, that were left by the troops that occupied Suja for seven, eight months.

And there was, this kind of graffiti is like make Russia small again and Donbassi's Ukraine. But written in English, which lets you guess the amount of mercenaries that were working in that in that direction. And a lot of vandalism to like the statue of Lenin and other Soviet Marx. You could see a lot of a lot of this a lot of this kind of signs there in this urban torn, completely torn environment. And yeah, you could see where they were having their positions where they stayed more time. I don't want to be repeating myself on this one, but schools, kindergartens and places like this are always the preferred places to stay from these troops.

And how do I know that they stay there? They actually write things on the wall to identify the positions. Because at some point, you need to identify your enemies and your foes are. So you write signs on the walls. And those were the signs there from Vseu. and the marks from the units and whatnot. And you can see the number of empty cartridges that are left on the floor.

You can see that position was there for quite some time. You see the empty ration cans, torn clothes, bloody torn clothes and whatnot. I mean, a lot of signs that those positions would use for quite some time. But the city in itself is just, it's just, I was telling the, I had Maria Lalyanova with me for translation, and I was just commenting with her that no matter how much we film here,

how many 360 angles we do with our camera, you have to be here to see the magnitude of the destruction that took place in the style. Are people or civilians returning? I mean, is the civilian life resuming? I mean, you said it's a halt zone, or are they staying away still? No, there are a few that refuse to leave. Very few. But the majority is the majority that left.

Actually, when I was talking about this, there were about 15 persons left in Suja, all hide in the basements of their houses, and they refused to leave. And they cannot be made to live if they, you know, If they are stonchy refusers, they can't be made to live. Yeah. So, but you can, I mean, you can see 15 people in such places.

It's nothing. But that's the number. What is your sense about the overall direction of the war? Because as I said, at the start of our program, there's a narrative that things have really slowed down, that the Russians have been forked to a standstill. the other view which I've heard fairly widely discussed is that on the contrary, likely in the spring we're going to start to see more stronger offensives by the Russians. Have you any sense? I'm not asking you to discuss strategy, but I'm just getting your feeling of what, having seen people, having talked with people, what you think might happen.

over the next few weeks and where we are basically. I have interviewed elements of the 810th Marine Brigade which is working in the direction of Sumi. This is like the most blatant information if this is the correct adjective to use that I can give. And it's interesting because all the elements that I've interviewed from that unit,

they are fighting since 2022. So they have pretty good account to give on the evolution of the war, and also gives you a little sign of how much people actually can survive on the front lines. This in contrast with the accounts that we have from the other side, because I've interviewed, it's the second time I visit this POW camp in Kursk, and they had some new prisoners there. And I will answer to your question. But this is just... No, no, no, no, no, it's important. What you're going to tell us is important. So please to give some concerts.

So I visit this POW camp. And I had interviewed four POWs in past May, which I published interviews, both soldiers and officers, all captured in Kursk region when the Ukrainian invasion there took place. And it was some of them were actually funny accounts that they gave. The amount of time that they fought, like one of them is like one hour and 30 minutes, I was in. in combat before being captured something like this. And so the accounts from there is like the average span for a Ukrainian on the front lines, it maximum, well, it's average, but it's actually two weeks, it's a good number. It's a good number to survive, a good number of days to survive on the frontlines there.

And a lot of things go there that a lot of things go on on the other side. that, for example, they recruit them, they make a lot of promises because they know these promises cannot be fulfilled because they will be dead. There will be no one to fulfill the promise to. So this happens a lot on the other side. Now, is Russia holding back? Is Russia being pushed back or whatnot? I repeat this and I made this statement the last time I spoke to you guys. The only thing that it holds Russia back is the drone warfare, because Ukraine is supplied in big numbers by the West. Drones are something now very cheap to make. And the Ukrainians have acquired a large experience, especially in this FPV drones.

They are the ones that cause most casualty among soldiers. And so Russia's objective, as far as I can see and understand from all the accounts and all the people I spoke, wants to minimize these losses. And so if Russia has time, if Russia has to stay the ground for a while and then again do more offensive. And as we know, they do normally when Russia attacks, it's not only in one place. It will be a broadline offensive. And we know what happened because Ukraine is actually our of human resources. This is something that you guys have been saying.

This is something that I've been noticing, and it still goes on. And so one can make the question, but if Russia is strong and if Ukraine as a lot of human resources, why is Russia not advancing? For that simple matter, Russia doesn't want to lose lives regardless, like being, carry on regardless, losing lives. Two little machines like FPV drones. things have to be coordinated. Things has to be planned.

Offensives now have to be planned. You know, the years of the initiative like they had in Second World War with spearheads that would take their own initiative and carry on in the rear of the enemy, those days are gone in the current state of technology. So offenses have to be planned. If you're going to send troops,

your own men, flesh and blood troops, to the front line, you will have to make sure that they have plenty drone coverage and you have to make sure that you suppress the enemy drones so actually troops can do their job on the ground. This takes time.

And as far as Russian troops, you know, retreating and whatnot, I mean, even if you have some back-and-forward movements, these are called tethical movements. If you were not allowed to make tactical retreats here and there, you're making a huge mistake.

And this is well known throughout history. You know, the stubborn generals that said, not an inch back or not a meter back or whatever, we know what happened to their units. They end up being surrounded and slaughtered. But overall, Russia is not retreating. I mean, it's nonsense. It's complete nonsense. And as far as the Russian rear is where you can actually feel the vibe.

The Russian rear, the Russian society, people carry on their, their, their daily lives. I mean, I was in Belgorod. Also, you know, Belgrade is subject to attacks. And Ukrainians claim that they kill a lot of Russians in Belgrade and leave Belgrade without electricity and without water and whatnot. I was also in Briones, by the way, in the place where this stormshadows recently fallen. And nothing like that goes on. You go then it's perfectly normal working city. We stayed in a hotel in Belgarod. We had hot water, we had electricity, we have internet, we have everything. I mean, so Russia is pretty, let's say, it's pretty solid and it has time. Time is on its side, I should say. So two questions. One is about Brianzsk, because as I said, I know that you've been

there. And was this a shock and how did it happen? The missile strike on Brijansk? And secondly, You discuss about drones and about all the steps the Russians are taking to develop counters to drones, which eventually that will happen. I mean, with every weapon system that's ever been developed, eventually a response to it is found. How close do you think the Russians are to that point? But first, Briaensk, then the second question. Okay, so about Briaensk. There were seven stormshadows that arrived there.

Actually, I don't know how many were launched, but we know that seven have arrived. And one of them arrived in, we were in the exact place where it arrived. I made some short stand-up video that I published there, the size of the crater. It arrived in a place where it was a bus station. It was one of the major lanes of Briansk and a supermarket. And it killed purely civilian casualties. And it was like the Ukrainian media was like claiming that they had like 200, kill 200 Russians and whatnot. I don't know why they like to claim this because these are civilians.

But the actually number of casualties there were eight civilians. And then there was other arrivals in the industrial place. And this, I'm unfortunate to say that I cannot give any details for simple reasons. And for simple reasons, because if I'm going to, let's put it, let's imagine this, if I'm going to say every missile struck their target and there was big devastation, there will be, you know, this uproar on the other side of the information. Or if I should say, no, none of these missiles struck or even if they struck, they did minor damage. well you can actually then hope that 100 more will be launched at the same position to to finish the job so now I have to keep the fog here on this one and because we actually had the interaction with the Breyan's authorities on the account of our work and so

this is this has to be maintained the secret I'm sorry it's it's security yeah we don't want you we understand that that we don't want to press And please, let me just explain this briefly. You know, Alex, that be able to do what I do here in Russia, without being a professional journalist, it's a big effort. And I have to really thank the authorities that cooperate with me willingly and all the access that they give me without asking any questions back. So, yeah, I have to respect their wishes as well. Obviously. What about countering drones? Finding means to counter drones. Because this seems to have been much of the focus of what you saw at the school. Are we coming closer and closer to that point when that happens? How far from that point are we? Well, it's actually we are pretty much developed on that point because if that was not the case, with the number of drones that Ukraine can,

actually have supplied by their Western partners, we must not forget that Russia is fighting a coalition of countries here. It's not fighting Ukraine. It's fighting a coalition of countries. With the number of drones that Ukraine has access to and now missiles and whatnot, Russia would be pretty devastated in their rear if they didn't have a very good, I don't say pretty good. I say a very good, excellent PVO, as they call it, the name for the air defense. What are they trying to do? The PVO is already, air defense is already very good. What they are trying to do is to make it better cost effectively. So, because their traditional air defense, if they're going to be shooting hundreds and dozens of drones every day, it's very, it's very

expensive and they found out they can do it in a much cheaper way. So this is what they're developing. Belgorod is a clear example of this. If they didn't have a very good air difference, Belgorod would be dark now, would be left out of water, out of electricity, in the dark completely. And that's not the case. I mean, you can see it for yourselves.

I will publish my stand-up video and my images of Belgarod very soon. taken yesterday, by the way. So, Karevma, thank you very much for explaining all of these very important things, providing us some reality about the conflict, which, of course, if you go to some of the newspapers, especially here in London, I mean, it has almost a cartoon quality the way it's talked about. I mean, it's actually embarrassing. Can I show one thing on that matter? Well, I was here in Moscow, and I was doing some publications on my Instagram.

And I checked the Portuguese outlets, the Portuguese media. And they were saying there was on Sikh news, which is one of the major Portuguese outlets, they were saying Moscow is left without internet. His inhabitants are forced to resort to paper maps and walkie-talkies. So I immediately made my publication, you know, look at me without internet making my publications on Instagram here. in, well, I'm in Moscow, you know. So, yeah, it's like you said.

It's comical. It's cartoonish, yeah. Cartoonish. Shal, thank you so much for coming on our program today. And let's do this again, Sue. Yeah, please. When you again. It's my honor, of course.

I'll be glad to. Before you go, can you once again tell everybody where they can follow you? Yeah, they can follow me on Facebook and Instagram and YouTube, or the Middle-Evered Geopolitics. Eastern Express or in Portuguese Espresso du Leicester, also on Instagram and Facebook. And that's pretty much it. Take us out. Take care.