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the what we've got to do is identify the threats that we have. it's crazy foundation, let it be an arms race based on the offense. very dramatic. the only personally, i'm going to resist. i don't see how that strategy will be successful, very unclear to get a time time to sit down and talk. 2 2 escalates the ancient greek tragedy and said that quote, in more truth is the 1st casualty and quote and for world almost constantly at war for more than a century. now truth is indeed often difficult to come by. that's why many of us turn to independent journalist for news and even for them, their work is sometimes more difficult to carry out because the powers that be tried to defend them, the platform, them,

and silence them. i'm john to reactive welcome to the whistle blowers the . 2 our guest today has the on enviable task of being a war reporter working for himself. that's right. he doesn't report to any news agency. and indeed, he's known as the world's only crowd funded war. corresponded patrick lancaster is a former member of the us navy, specializing in cryptography on the us. as katy hawk with an interest in journalism, he moved to ukraine in 2014. to cover the my don revolution. he settled and done yet later that year. and has remained ever since covering developments during slow times and hot war. his work frequently appears in russian news outlets, but he has also become a prominent contributor to youtube and other platforms. patrick, welcome to the show. we're happy to have, you know,

thanks for having me. i appreciate it. let's start at the beginning. you are one of the very few journalist who has been in the done bass almost for the duration of the conflict. what have you seen from your time in the field? tell us what it's lake there, but especially where it's like for the civilians in the area. um, well yeah, i've been here since 2014, almost exactly 9 years now in about a week. it'll be exactly 9 years and before that i was in crime. yeah. during the the the evolution sit there and the referendum. um, but uh yeah, i came to done yesterday after the referendum in uh uh, crowded me up because i wanted to continue to try to show what was really happening . even though i didn't speak any russian at the time and didn't really even know a lot about the political situation between russia and ukraine. but when i wished to cry me, uh,

it was the 1st time i really saw how what was being shown in the west in the media wasn't really the, the reality of what was happening because i arrived in crimea just before the referendum. and it was expecting to see a russian soldiers is forcing it people to go to the votes and really imposing the there will on the people without the people's permission. but when i got there, i saw how happy the, the people are, cried me, of the russian people of crime. you know, the vast majority was that russia was there and that they were having a chance to go back to russia because, i mean, any person born before the, the fifty's it was that was born in crimea, was born in russia in the premier was given to ukraine in the fifty's, which

a lot of the residents consider was an illegal turnover of the land to you. great, it's, but i mean, it's kind of a long winded answer, but eventually i, it came in april of 2014 to done yet, and began to see how the people here were doing their best to try to break away from ukraine as well. because in my opinion, a lot of them saw what happened in crimea, and they, they thought they had a chance to break away their land here and to join the russia like crimea did. but unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out that it quick and easy for them. i'm as we all know a, this 9 year war developed after the protesters took control and they should basically put up the borders and ukrainian forces attacked them for that. and

a kid for the last 9 years continued to of bomb and shell residential areas. of course, there's a fighting between military's and see if 2. 2 1014, the locals. they developed somewhat of a rag tag army at 1st. and that basically consisted of unexperienced miners farmers and just normal locals. but they were able to do it in the as time went on the uh, the infrastructure of the done yes. people's republic started to develop and become more of a real country. i mean, i, over the years i saw their, their government and their military force, they just become more and more professional. and all of this is, and this time was happening with the local population, just praying that one day they would become a part of russia. i mean, this is the fact is what the western mainstream media won't tell you,

is that it for the last 9 years and these 2 regions, the people have just been trying their best. it's been by these 2. i mean done yes . for low cost reason. we're trying your best to break away from the ukraine and even in variable we hear all this about the bell and variable in 2014. there was a referendum in variable and variable shows that they wanted to break away from ukraine, but ukraine, it came in and forced their laws and their borders back on variable. and it just left the same, having a crime, a tourist lobbyist. and i was in chrome, a tourist who, when ukraine it came in at 2014 july i was standing there. and in, in the square as ukraine came in and took control again of the city of the crime, a tourist i met so many people there that were happy that ukraine was gone. and when we saw the ukraine was coming back in the,

the done. yes. people for public forces had withdrawn, people were crying in the streets. is that the, their chance of joining rush or at least being away from ukraine was gone. and during these last 9 years, i've seen that does and hundreds of dozens, but hundreds of civilian homes. it hits bye i the ukrainian attacks and these aren't necessarily an accident. i mean, these are just random attacks on civilian neighborhoods just a few days ago. this is all posted on my telegram channel. i, you came to a location where it ukraine had dropped, what they call and tell you a change minds. and particularly if they're called a tier 2 there were given to ukraine by the german, the military. and they call them anti it the tank minds. but really their answer,

whatever it touches them. and just days ago ukraine lost them on the neighborhood of october sky, not far from the done yet, the airport. and they came down and one exploded and ripped through the legs of an elderly man, turned his legs off. we lived just long enough to set it to sit up and it'd be taken to the hospital and died on the way to the hospital. and just moments after she left in the, in the ambulance on the other side of the building, another one of these anti change minds went off and ripped through one of the legs of an elderly woman. and luckily she survived and was taken to the hospital. i actually went to the hospital today and had a talk with the assistant director of the hospital. and luckily she looks like she's going to make it. but these are just just one example of time and time again that ukraine fires on civilian areas and particularly with western or nato supplied

weapons. i mean, there's no reason that a western supply, the weapons should be used on civilian areas, but it happens over and over and over again. we're talking everything from the 155 millimeter shows that the us is supplied to the high mars rocket that the us supplier. these are all these western supplied weapons that i've seen many times with my own eyes and filled and documented the evidence is on what channel of these western weapons being used on the civilians of these areas just over and over again . and that kind of gives overview of what, what i've seen. but as an all of my reports, i tell the people show to watch my reports, but also watch things on the other side of the line. because on the other side of the line, on the key upside, there's thousands of journalists giving reports in english for on this slide, there's not too many. so i just do my best to show what the situation is here and

then be compete. people can watch as much information as possible and make their own decisions on the opinions they want to make. here in the united states, the alternative media have at least tried to educate americans on what the as of battalion is. but the mainstream media either ignores as of or presents or false history of the organization. tell us about what the as a battalion is, how it started and where you've encountered it. well, the battalion is a battalion that has been around since it leave 2014 middle a little before. but basically i try to, in my reports, i try to show exactly what i've seen. and let's go from that. so this is the last part of your question. what i've seen of the, as a battalion is my 1st day in mirror, you pull almost exactly a year ago just under year ago when i went in during the heat of the bell, i found a basement of a school. it was school number 25 in there, you pull where we went down and discovered that it was it just maybe

a day or 2 before was being used as a base by the as of the time we found the euclidean of uniforms as of patches, different types of patches, and it we saw burned out, the weapons and guns that they, it appeared that they had burned these guns so they wouldn't fall into the hands of the russians or the done yes, people's public forces. and as we went through the space, we came up to an opening. everything was very dark, but we came to this opening where there was some light coming into the basements, and this is again, this is the basement of the school school number 25. it can be looked up on the map and, and we, we found a woman lay dead on the ground. the naked head was a little bit covered up in a close, but not totally. and it was clear that she had been raped and tortured. she had

a plastic bag over her head and covered in blood, and she had a swastika, a carved on her stomach and bloody in this clearly appeared to be as all the forces took disability it into their base. and to begin this step base of this school, the basement of the school and raped and tortured this young woman in the carved is swastika on her stomach and in variable there's many reports of things like this. i mean it's, it was quite an emotional time going from place to place of variable and seeing so many civilians killed i'd. it seemed a hospital where there was hundreds of dead bodies. some of the women had their hands tied. and so many reports from what the locals

were telling me that the as of a battalion was shooting civilians as they tried to evacuate. no, i didn't see that with myself just as what this is just what the civilians told. but i did see this, this woman with a swastika carved in her stomach in the basement of the school that the as always using as a base and what you even made it worse if it's even possible. is that just weeks after i broke this story of this woman that was tortured and killed and raped by the edge of battalion um the, the, the assistant of. so let me ask you the ukrainian president put out the photo of my report as well as several of the deputies from ukraine that this woman was from boucher and it was russian atrocities. and it was the queue. is the russians of tortured this,

a woman near the key of in the care of region. and it got picked up by different western media sources and still to this day, you can find these reports for the western media saying that a, the russians is tortured. this woman and carved a slush the corner just having the photo. but in reality, this photo came from mary opal in the basement. other school that was, it adds up a time just total was coming from the premium government about situations like this . and there are many situations like this where they totally use the ukranian war crimes and try to turn it around against russia. the end is the fact is that, of course, in any war on any sort of line, there's so many people involved. there's more crimes on each side of every war old going back to desert storm direct we're in be on. but the fact is, when it happens, the government shouldn't be lying about it. the ukraine government should have

accepted this war crime and done something to try to bring the people to justice instead of lying about what it, what it happened. i'm curious to know patrick the reaction of people in the done best to what we see here in the united states. ukrainian president zalinski is greeted in washington for example, as a conquering hero. he addresses a joint session of congress. he addresses the academy awards ceremony. there are even action figures of the landscape for sale in toy stores. how do people in the done bass view, the way the united states and the west to view the conflict? well, i can tell you um i just moments ago, a half an hour ago film, the reports on the reactions of the locals here and done yet in the center city of finland, joining russia or excuse me, joining nato and ask them what they thought about the situation and particularly what they would say to the lives if they had

a chance and they'll be in this is what i do it a lot of my reports, i try to get the opinions of what they would say to sort of uh, buy it in. and uh uh, uh, put them as well and the vast majority virtually, oh, um the most common thing that they say about the lift gate is that they hate him. and the most common thing that they say about to put in is they thank you. and they hope he helps more to protect them here. um, so it basically from what you see in the west to what the real situation here is on the ground of done boss. as far as the bid told you, of the people is totally a chris, it's night and day. i mean, the fact is, the people here on the ground consider themselves russian and want to be part of russia and want to have nothing to do with ukraine. use of the facts here on the ground,

at least in the done yet can look on the republics. we're speaking with independent journalist, patrick lancaster. we're going to take a short break and continue on with our conversation. so please stay to. 2 2 2 2 the, the russian states never is as tight as i'm one of the most sense community best in most all sense and up in the system must be the one else holes. question about this, even though we will then in the european union, the kremlin mission, the state on the rush of putting a split, the ortiz full neck,

keeping our video agency roughly all the band on youtube. the tv service was, what question did you say a request to check the i really thought that we were going to die. and i crawled all the way to the right. and then i hid behind the 2 years before i was even born. and

this has continued to stick with the system basically we want to make sure that certain regular civilians should be in the hands of those people who are unsafe at stake. know where to start the the welcome back to the whistle blowers. i'm john kerry onto were speaking with independent journalist, patrick lancaster, who has spent much of the past year, much of the past many years, reporting from the don bass. patrick, thanks again for being with us. one of the things that we've heard rumblings about here in the united states is the lack of accountability within the ukrainian government for the massive numbers of weapons. and during that country from the united states and the rest of nato. we've also seen reports that many of these

weapons have quickly found their way to the black market. what have you seen? well, from the get go of last year even before um, before what the, what its called the special operation uh a bike or rush or before even before that. uh, i saw the western weapons being used on this civilian infrastructure of uh, done. yes. it particularly last january, just before this all escalated, i saw it registered and i believe it was 60 millimeter art, the mortars used on an electric substation. and since then, of course, the amount of weapons that have been supplied to ukraine has increased quite a bit. so now it's almost, it's more time to see the western supplied weapons than it is. any soviet area

weapons, daily, a $155.00 millimeter rounds that's supplied by the west, particularly the nighted states. has it been dropped on the civilian areas here? done yes. and the lot, the guns, gary, a and many other civilian areas. i mean, this is a fact, it, of course, i've filmed the high mars it all coming down on many areas. it's civilian areas. and of course, there with the amount of increase of western supplied weapons. there are also weapons that have been supplied by the west, but they are now under control of russia. and because when russia moves in and ukraine evacuate, russia takes these western supplied weapons and then use them back against the ukraine. this is something that's very pretty common as well, particularly the javelins. uh, and many other types of weapons. now that the,

the more jets and tanks are being supplied by your brain, i think it's just a or excuse me, is supplied by the west to your great. i think it's just a matter of time before we see the russian forces using these jets in tags against the ukraine forces. and even before that, we're going to see a lot of the western supply tanks and jets being destroyed. patrick, what do you think is the ultimate destination for these weapons? in the case of syria, many of the weapons provided by the united states to its courtesy allies there ended up being used in the fighting and libya. this isn't anything new and there don't seem to be any controls, wants to weapons arrive. what's your bit, what's been your experience? well, i mean, as far as, what's gonna happen down the road, and as far as the, the black market use can't really is. i haven't seen any of this with my own eyes besides the fact, as i said,

the weapons getting used back in the hands of the russian forces. i mean, so that, that's pretty something that's pretty common for the last year. is the weapons being used against ukraine, the but as far as black markets sales can't really comment to learn a lot on that. but the situation is that a lot of these weapons are going from the hands of you radians right into the hands of the russians to be used against the ukraine. like many americans, i read the washington post the new york times and the wall street journal. every morning, i liked to think that i'm educated enough and worldly enough to recognize bias reporting when i see it. so i take what i read with a grain of salt. you're in america. tell us what isn't being reported from the region in the american media. well, in 2014, when the president john of co, which was kicked out of office is after my, the,

i'm being accused of mass slaughter of protesters in the locals here in the east viewed him as their presidents. and that is that he was ousted without their permission. and then the new president, whoever new government, that's it. most of the residents here looked at as the that was placed by the united states. and this new governments, they moved right away to legalize russian holidays. and the russian language being taught in public schools and for this, for this side of the country, for the ethic russians that live here who speak russian uh, in the russian holidays, it's like in united states, if you would lose the legalize independence day. yeah. how, how they would react. i mean it's just would be and not being taught your, your language in school. it's just, just

a couple of examples would just be unbelievable. and they realized that there ukraine was dead and it wasn't anymore. their president was gone. and what was left of their twisted ukraine is trying to push out the russian culture. and they decided we're not going to have this. we're going to break away. like we're going to joined russia like crime. you did, and they move protests happen. all government buildings got taken over, a lot of them were taken over with peacefully. i you, my 1st one that i saw was the main police station have done bus here, done yet, where it protested, but pro 5000 or more protesters came and totally peaceful military came said we're not gonna fight the people take, it takes a building and it because everyone here is russia, they get russian, they have the same ideas, everybody in 2014, basically one of the same thing to break away from ukraine and joined russia. they

just thought it was gonna happen a lot quicker than it did. and unfortunately, a lot of people died and are still dying every day. but the people here are still pushing as hard as they can do, stay part of russia and have a better life for their children. patrick lancaster, you are one of the, very few, perhaps the only crowd funded independent journalist working anywhere in the world . and certainly the only one working in a major war zone. where can our viewers learn more about the work that you do? well my uh, so i've put up my reports and updates so many platforms. my name is uh youtube. you could look find me just by searching patrick lancaster or patrick lancaster news today. 1 you can also find me on twitter at it appealed news today and of course, rumble and odyssey and telegram,

i have both a russian and english language telegram and my children's also, patrick lancaster. there were a lot of my shorter updates it get posted if it doesn't come to be a full report on my youtube channel. but youtube is definitely a good place to find me. and you can find how to support my work in a nearby videos on youtube as well. the we have the links and the description and the comments. i'd like to thank our guests, patrick lancaster for being with us. and thanks to our viewers for tuning in marie colvin, the courageous british journalist killed in syria in 2012 said, quote. it has always seemed to me that what i write about is humanity in extremis, push to the unintelligible and that it is important to tell people what really happens in war and quote, for that we should be grateful. i'm john curiosity when you've been watching the whistle blowers until next time. 2 2 2 2 2

the most recent news, munoz carlos, imagine if you speak russian, keep your voice down while i was in about. so when i get up, if i go for ex perspective, sir, don't put your human symbols on display decisions. basically sna the guys so you guys don't talk to strangers the. 7 void noisy gatherings and was wondering for sure what she can relay and get them in and what actually your colleagues and perhaps also your friends think your guilty because you'll, russian and let you know the phone. so what can i do them, it was my,

i'm save it so i'd be glad to which is the team that does the styles we did is be a good fit. and that amount of by needs to be able to conceptually parties specific story. shortly concerning the the, the headlines on all the international india itself is, is, was trained dissolves to, in that case with the desktop wise into 288. and then the $1000.00 in tip also is this a lean towards c t o shit back and it was evacuated due to shelley stain in one place is desirable for no more. within a few minutes, russian civilians evacuated from parts of the belgrade region made increasing, selling from across the board by the ukrainian military using western supplies west