All right, Alexander, we are joined with the one and only Patrick Lancaster to talk about what is happening in Ukraine. And we will probably focus on Avdefka. To everyone that is watching this video, you can follow Patrick's work on YouTube and on Rumble. I will have those links in the description box down below as well as a pinned comment. We hope you have a great day. Patrick is that correct? And of course you know this area very well.

Uh... let me start by saying that i definitely appreciate it appreciate you guys having me as usual uh... let pleasure to be here and i appreciate the help getting the word out to the world what's really happening here Now I just literally moments ago came back from near of the of God not actually in the city itself, but a refugee center that has been ...set up by Russian forces, uh, to assist the, um... Refugees coming from of divka the ones that were still in the city during the whole battle and I literally just Spoke to several of them who just an hour before were in the city itself, which is actually starting to heat up a bit more. For the first few days after Russia took control, it got a little bit quiet, as I understood.

Is stand in the city itself because Ukraine was retreating. But now the information I'm getting is Ukraine's kind of stopped retreating there and firing back at the city with pretty good amounts of ammunition. That's what the refugees told me.

I spoke to many of those about the situation in Evdivka, and of course I've been covering the events this week here in Donetsk. Right, tell us about what's happened in Evdivka. What do these people say? I mean, it's incredible to me, listening to you, that there were people, civilians, still in Evdivka throughout this war and throughout this fighting, because my impression is, especially over the last couple of weeks, the fighting was of unbelievable intensity. And we had, the day before yesterday, the Russian defense minister, Shoigu, saying that they carried out…the Russians were carrying out around 460 bomb strikes, air strikes, on Evdivka a day, which seems, again, an incredible number.

In a relatively small space. So what are these people saying about that? How do they describe it? How do they feel about the way the battle happened? Well, they said the battle was just hell, as they put it. One thing that was overwhelmingly common with all of the refugees that I spoke to is they said they had been waiting on Russia to come. And there moisturmann is about-- Happy to be on this side of the line now. They said many were said they've been waiting for 10 years for Russia to come to Avdivka. And there's still many refugees in, or people, residents in, of Devca now that haven't been evacuated or had the chance to evacuate, or some of them One family member of a person I spoke to today, she had to leave her family member there because he wanted to not...

...leave his city and stay and help in the rebuilding, in the immediate rebuilding and help of the situation. There even though he wasn't a soldier himself just someone a resident that wanted to stay and do what he could to help with the situation um but uh these People one woman said that I asked her okay Is it a good thing or bad thing that Russia it controls of Devka now? She says it's a great thing because of Devka has always has been Russia and should always be Russia. And I spoke to them about the referendum that took place in 2014, just like here in Donetsk and the other parts of Donbas to break away from Ukraine. And they said they had the referendum and they voted to break away, but Ukraine would not let them. Ukraine was, as they put it, unfortunately able to maintain control of Diyuska.

But, you know, they see things are changing now, and they're looking forward. Obviously, many of them have lost everything they have, but I even saw some people with animals, dogs and cats, being evacuated and helped by Russian forces. This center was just basically a center set up that was made to assist these refugees in anything they might need. Just a place to rest, there was beds, a place to take care of any documents. That might be needed, call their families. And I mean, several people I talked to with. With them as they were calling their families and telling them they were still alive for the first time in months.

Russian forces are doing what they can to help these people move on because obviously all of them can't stay in What is left of DIVKA now unfortunately? but as I said It seems there's still intense fighting going on in and around of Dvka. I haven't myself made it into the city yet I'm hoping in the next two days to make it in, but as you can understand, this is the hottest part of the war and the most in tense area so it's it's even though I've been here for so long it's still a little bit of a challenge to make sure you do everything safe and do it the right way but people are getting out Soldiers are going in and there's no question that this is a point...

As far as it seems to me right now is a point that Russia is Putting it into high gear. I mean they maybe this is a huge win for them taking of Divka and Even today, there is a village not far from... From Mereinka in the southern parts of Donetsk that has just this afternoon been taking control of reports by Russian forces. It's called Pebeda or Victory is what the village is called near Mereinka. And reports just in the last 45 minutes are coming out that Russia has taken control of that village. And through-- The grapevine, I'm hearing that Russia is pushing harder in... Many other directions. I've been told that Russia is taking territory in the Zaporozhia area and other...

Their areas and there's even talk of a new serious offensive are pushed to the north uh... my thing only it time will tell uh if Russia decides to push hard in the Kharkov direction, but it seems like this might be a turning point, you could say, in the war. For watching. Slower than has been expected before uh... but things seem to be changing this week everything is going in a little bit and fast forward to compared to what how it was in the last months and weeks i mean

You've been to the area around Avedevka before. You came under fire, I seem to remember, there at an earlier stage in the war. I seem to remember you telling us what an incredibly heavily fortified position it was. So when you say that it's a big victory for them, they've broken this very difficult, fortified position. Have you been able to speak to any of them? Soldiers how did they feel about what's happening? Well yes as far as the fortified area in and around of Divka this was really a fortress you could call it because they... Ukrainian forces had eight years from 2014 until 2022 to fortify the... ...positions in and around of Dvka with literally concrete. I mean, it's not like a lot of the other positions...

...in new positions who are, you know, made of wood and dirt. These positions in the round of Divka, Ford concrete, I mean literal concrete bunkers and And, um... Russia has taken control of all of these and it literally Made the distance between the center of Donetsk, it used to be about 8 to 12 uh... ...cometers to Ukrainian territory. Now it's about 12- 20 to 25... Kilometers from the center of Donetsk to Ukrainian territory. Now, unfortunately, with these Western-supplied weapons, Ukraine can still hit the center of... Done yet like they've been doing every day this week as you could, you know, imagine somewhat of Revenge you could say for Russia taking of devka

Just last night, I went to the main hospital in South Africa. ...done yet, it's the name of its Kalinina, and a rocket had hit the... Goodness, it was the laboratory department and particularly the ultrasound room. And I say thank goodness because in this area there's no sick people. Laying all night and you know it was basically an empty department in ...the evening, just a few nurses, unfortunately one was injured, but I believe she's gonna make it, um, and the... ...no, um... No other people were injured, so that's great, but this rocket purportedly... And as I understand and what I could observe myself, it seems to be Be a Czech Republic supplied vampire ride.

Now these are 122mm which are the same as the Soviet made Grad rockets but a little bit different. Little heavier and a longer range, over 40 kilometer range, and that's why they're able to hit the center because of these western supplied weapons. And then just day before yesterday... In the morning, a 155mm Western-supplied Artillery shell hit a crosswalk in the center of Donetsk and I was there just after it happened unfortunately killed two people injured five and and It was on this crosswalk right next to a pizza parlor and a pizza parlor in the crosswalk took most of the damage and behind And that was the Minister of Education's building. I mean, Minister of Education, is that really something that should be targeted?

Should a pizza parlor or a crosswalk be targeted? No. Um, and there was also a kindergarten. Luckily now, they, uh, and... And then yet it's all distance learning so there was no one at the kindergarten and but it was hit as well and then Just as I had come back from filming the crosswalk where unfortunately the people lost their lives, I just got back To this apartment here and heard two huge explosions. I looked out my window and just saw black smoke rising. Threw my armor back on and ran to the smoke and found two ...craters of a high Mars rockets, United States supplied high Mars rockets that hits just on the edges of the building...

Of the city library. I mean, just literally on both sides missed hitting the building itself by inches. You know high marks are very precision you don't miss it, but by that much, but there's no question that these were ... at the city library and in my report I filmed through the library... Great, no military round, I mean these are just civilian targets being hammered by Ukraine using... Western supplied weapons. Western tax dollars killing and maiming people on the streets of... Done yes, literally on the streets. I filmed a dead woman who was dead on the street right in the middle of a crosswalk because of the tax that you US tax dollars that are given to Ukraine to kill the civilians here in Donetsk.

I mean this is absolutely terrible it's been going on for what eight years now nine years and On May 26th it'll be 10 years. 10 years? I mean, the thing is, it is savage and br-

But it also seems somehow pointless. What does Ukraine think – we've discussed this many times – what is Ukraine…why is Ukraine doing this? It makes very little sense to me from a military…I mean, I can't see any military logic in this at all. To all intents and purposes, it's a war crime. So why do they do it? Why does the West let them do it? Why does the West go on supplying weapons that enable them to do it? Patrick, I think this is a rhetorical question, because it's the kind of question we can only get an answer to from people like Zelensky and Zeluzny and Zirsky and Western leaders. But, I mean, it's still a question.

Always is there for me. I mean, do they want to see these people killed? What is the purpose of killing? Especially at this time? What point in the world? I think the better people to answer that question is the locals that live under it, and that's what I asked them. I asked them the same thing. If there's no, because they tell me, there's no military targets near here. And I say okay, well, there's no military targets. Why is Ukraine firing here? They say it's to terrorize them and to kill them. They say this whole story of that Ukraine and Kiev... ...gives to the West about trying to protect its people is just not the truth. They just want the land. They don't want the people here. They want the... The land. This is the words of the locals, not my words.

Not to talk about this operation. Week to get to the front since the taking of of Devka but I've Offline talk to a few soldiers and you can tell the morale is definitely up. I mean this is... Is such a symbolic and strategic win for them with Evdivka. I mean, and they view this as a-- Change in the tide and not even really tied i mean ukraine wasn't winning before but Now it's like they feel like they've given- been given the go-ahead from uh-

Moscow or however you want to say it to move and that's what it seems to be happening is the push is on Right and what about I mean we're getting all these reports in the West about massive Russian losses in I'm going to go to the next question. Spreading information about that.

It's a war, so there is injured soldiers and civilians that you do see occasionally. But I can say, in the last weeks, I see no difference in... ...than how it had been before. military ambulance or something like that, but no, no difference. Just the norm still. head of surgery and the deputy director of the trauma hospital about the injuries from that day and Going through the hospital and speaking with him. I saw No remnants of military soldiers at all. Can I just... tell me...

But the mood in Donetsk, obviously they're still being belt bombed, they're still being shelled. I'm sure they know that simply capturing Avdovka itself is not going to mean the shelling and the bombing ends. But was there a sense of elation? Was there a sense of relief? You said that the Ukrainians were only 12 kilometers away. Now they're further. How did they feel about this? People in Donetsk feel about this. Well, I think at first, last weekend, early this week, there was a... A little bit of a hope of a relief because Before, a lot of the shelling on the city has been coming from Avdivka, as we know. So people were really hoping... That that would mean the center of Donetsk would not be under shelling anymore. But it seems like Ukraine kind of made it a point to use these longer range weapons just to say...

Ah-ah! We can still hit you in the center. Don't get too excited. And so I think that- kind of brought down a little bit of the morale of the people and that's what Ukraine wanted to do. So in that sense, they somewhat succeeded. They had to kill some civilians and... Hit a library with United States supplied rockets, but you know if that's what they're Going for, it might have been a little bit of a, you know, a plus for-- ...them as far as terrorizing the civilians. Um... But... What it really did is now, instead of coming from the direction of DIVKA, it's a little bit over to the west. And we can see that in my report from last night. I used a compass to-- Show exactly the direction from the Kalina Hospital at 273 degrees and that

That's where they're firing from now. Um, and as far as the... There was one woman that I met at the crosswalk where the people were killed and so many were injured as she said that She wishes she could take up a weapon and fight the Ukrainians herself, because they've been living under this for ten years. How much can they live under it? They just want it to be over. They want Ukraine to stop killing their families. What about the civilians from Avdevka themselves? They must have had very, very close contact with the Ukrainian military who was there around them. I mean, what did they discuss at all, their interactions with the Ukrainian military? The Ukrainians are shelling Donet City, and at the same time there are these people around

Them were people afraid of them how did the Ukrainians act towards them well I can say all of the people I met they weren't very positive for the Ukrainian forces and one particular said that at one point Um, Ukrainian forces came to a building that where, uh, people were in the, uh, the shelter in the basement underneath, uh, counted the people. And then as soon as they left several hours later, something like this, the building was... Heavily hit with shells and many people lost their lives and they blamed it on the Ukrainians for doing that. And another said how they, um... ...aware of a situation where Ukrainian forces executed several civilians.

This is coming from the people that were at Devka this morning. And all this will be on my reports the next day or so, so people can watch and think for themselves what they want to look at and what they don't want to hear. Did they tell you anything about the battle and about what happened at the end? I mean, we're getting all these reports, even the US media is now covering them, that the Ukrainians, that the morale collapsed and that the Ukrainians fled, that it was a disorganized and chaotic retreat from Africa. Have you heard the civilians discuss this? Did it look to them like an organized withdrawal?

or a chaotic one? This is what I've seen. I've been in so many villages, towns, and cities that had just taken... Changed hands. And most of the time these civilians, they're sitting in... Basement somewhere then they get a knock on the door and they're not sure which side it is and they just have to open a door and

someone that's going to shoot them. So, it's hard for them to tell. Alexander M: You know Donetsk, you know Avdevka, you've been to this area as well. I mean, could people in Donetsk city hear the battle? I mean, it's only 12 kilometers away, all these bombs falling, all this shelling. Was it something that people were physically conscious of, that there was this battle going Very near to Donet City. The sound of war and shelling never stops in Donetsk. I mean in the... Last 24 hours, I've been here and I don't think five minutes have gone by and not heard explosions in the distance. So, I mean... It's not necessarily just of DIVKA. I mean it's sometimes that

Spherics are a little bit better, so you even hear it farther, but I'm there's constants Exchanges here and there, I mean, this week it's been very loud in Donetsk. Yeah, and I mean... On and off all the time. Right. I mean, Avdevka is only one place. Marinka, which we talked about a short time ago, that's also been captured. I believe I'm right in saying that the Russians captured another place called Pesky, some… about… actually about a year and a half ago. So these places near Donet City, they're being taken one by one by one. Which are the other places near Donet City where they're being taken?

Shelling comes from and which we need to be aware of? Well, to the west, directly to the west of Dnieszty, that's where it's more open territory, open Ukrainian territory. I mean, Meryinka, it was down in a pocket kind of to the southwest, at Divka northwest. But the western side of... Of Donetsk is more open Ukrainian territory. So that's, but that's also more rural territory. So it's going to be a slow push, I believe, and possibly also they're going to try to close a call. And as they call it theirs well but time will tell you know how their military Tactics play out but hopefully soon shelling will stop hitting the city of Donetsk I mean two years ago

Almost exactly two years ago. Saturday it'll be two years since this operation... Uh started I I did a small video on my channel thinking that that would be the last day that uh I didn't ask you It was a frontline city, and boy was I wrong, and so was a lot of other people. Yeah, absolutely. But we'll have to see. Time tells. Right. Now, as I said, I mean, we're not trying to second guess, but do you think the Russians will focus principally around Donetsk? I mean, they seem to have a lot of forces concentrated there now, and are people talking about – you know, we're told that the general who was in charge was a man called I mean, what are the feelings about him if they do?

You know, that's kind of, you know, too many steps away from the locals here. I mean, yeah, there's a lot of soldiers around. But, I mean, this is really an overall game, a big game, and I mean, I see if this is the... A moving point or a pushing point or an assault point, things are going to be going across the line, all from Kharkov to her son. And then of course we've got the election coming very soon. So we're gonna have to see, um... How that goes and also Ukraine's theme For the last years has been to make a point on holidays, Russian holidays. Now tomorrow's the day of Fender it's kind of it almost seems to me like something like a combination of the West maybe Veterans Day combined with

Father's Day, just something like that mixed together. So unfortunately, I would expect that Ukraine is gonna launch a big attack on-- done yet in many different locations tomorrow as they do every day but I think there'll be I mean I hope not, I hope I pray I'm wrong, but I think tomorrow there's gonna be some... really problems in done yet, because everybody's off work, and... Many people are going to be barbecuing. It's a tradition. It's almost like the first barbecue of the year for-- Many people here and then the day after we've got the two year anniversary of the operation. The next two days might be pretty heavy here in done yet. We'll have to see.

Here to cover it if it is. Um, and we'll just go from there. I just want…I just want one last question, which I was going to ask you about the election. I mean, we're now actually drawing close. I mean, if you follow Putin, he's clearly campaigning. I mean, he's going to Kazan, he's going to all of these places. Any possibility, do you think, that he might come to Donbas? Um, well, I would think no, but he surprised us before. I mean, I think it was last year he went to MetaEupol, just Spirit of the Moment. Um, so, you know. Now it's a possibility, but I don't think anybody will know until after it happened, that's for sure. And do you see much sign of the election in Donbass? I mean, you know, election materials being distributed, posters, that kind of thing.

Something that people are interested in. Everywhere. Yeah, yeah, for sure. They're gearing up for the election here in all... Of the four regions, Zaporozhia, Hrsun, Donetsk, and Lugansk. Of course, I'm gonna be here reporting on that. My plan, I'm gonna try to hit all four regions. Um, but you know, I think that's a good thing. It's the three day election. It's kind of hard to hit all the spots, but I'm going to do my best. Starting in Lugans and just moving south, but we'll have to see how far I can get. I'll at least get three of the four of us During the referendum before I tried to get all four, I made three. So we'll see if I break my record this time. And this will be the first time that they vote in a Russian presidential election for the Russian president.

Yes, they've been able to vote in Russian election last year, but this will be the first presidential election. So it's a new stepping stone for the Russian people here. Excellent. And it'll be the first time they'll be able to vote for Putin, assuming that's what they Yeah, that is the general overall consensus. That's my questions, Patrick. Is there anything you want to tell us beyond what I've asked? Um, you know, just... Like I said, I'm glad you helped me show your viewers what's happening here. It's greatly appreciated and for your viewers You know, like I say in my reports, you know, do as much as you can to get as much information on the situation here.

Watch one side, watch as many sources as possible, watch the Ukrainian reports, the Russian Watch my reports. Don't just watch my reports. Don't just watch your reports because we can't show everything Because we don't know everything the other sources don't show everything because they can't are I don't want to show everything. Um, so get a little bit from every side you can and Educate yourself don't just be led by the mainstream media like sheep you know think for yourself And of course you can always see my reports on my YouTube channel, Patrick Lancaster news today, which will be in the description and. And yeah, let's show the world together what's happening. - Absolutely, Patrick Lancaster, thank you very much. An invaluable reporter from the region itself. - Thank you very much guys.

Appreciate being on, as usual.