Video by Patrick Lancaster at the scene

Total watching time (but can view sections): 36.15mins.

INTRODUCTION by D.Breatnach: In a modern war, artillery will be fired by both sides. Often, civilian sites will be hit even if not actually targeted (which they sometimes are too). At the back of our minds, we know and realise this. But if we rely on the mass media in the West, it seems like in the Ukraine, it is only the Russians that are shelling, only the Russians that are hitting civilian factories and homes. And actually targeting them, we are told. Patrick Lancaster, a war journalist has been showing us the other side, for which he has been labelled many things, among which the mildest is “Russian shill” — as though the Western mass media is independent, objective and non-aligned.

Patrick Lancaster, a US citizen and ex-US Navy, has been covering this conflict since March 2014 when he arrived in Ukraine to document the exit polls in the middle of the Crimea independence referendums but has covered other areas in the past. Currently he covers the conflict from inside anti-Ukraine Government-controlled territory, very often near the front line. On May 20 of 2022, Lancaster shared the breaking information about the Deputy Commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet Andrei Play who was killed in the midst of the battle in Mariupol. . 

In this video coverage we can note a number of things:

• The frequency of shells hitting the area.
• That shells are hitting houses and what seems to be a civilian factory and infrastructure.
• Some of those engaging are trying to deal with the situation with humour and, in one scene, singing and some of the women are quite cheerful.
• Patrick Lancaster (unlike many of the Western journalists reporting) is clearly in some danger and he goes down stairways very quickly (stairways are the most vulnerable if hit by bombs since they are in a shaft within the building). His guide/ security person and camera person (possibly Russian military) is also at risk.
• Some of the civilians seem to fear being filmed — why, if the film is anti-Ukrainian forces? This seems to indicate a fear of the Ukrainian forces, should they manage to capture the area. Let’s remember that Donetsk has been under attack for eight years before the Russian invasion this year.
• Inside the factory basement (using it as a bomb shelter) there is a boy who doesn’t remember a time when there was no war there — again, let’s remember that Donetsk has been under attack for eight years before the Russian invasion this year.
• Patrick ends up helping paramedics and a neighbour to evacuate a civilian wounded in the foot (lost a fair amount of blood)

It should be clear that we are being fed a very selective diet in the western media coverage of this conflict.

end.