Report: US weapons donated to Ukraine are injuring civilians – including children – in Donetsk

03/21/2023 / By Belle Carter

Shelling by Ukrainian forces in the country’s eastern Donetsk region, purportedly driven by weapons provided by the U.S. to Kyiv, have injured civilians – including children.

Independent reporter Patrick Lancaster, who is currently in the Donetsk People’s Republic to cover the Russia-Ukraine war, disclosed this revelation. He pointed his finger at weapons supplied by Washington as being responsible for the shelling and injuries among civilians in Donetsk, an “unrecognized republic of Russia.”

“Hospitals in Donetsk are receiving many civilians injured by Ukrainian shelling every day,” Lancaster posted on his Telegram account. “I have gone to the main traumatology hospital in [the] center [of] Donetsk to meet the faces of those who have been injured by Ukraine shelling.”

Lancaster spoke to the assistant head of the said hospital, who disclosed that there were 20 victims of shelling – with at least five children among them. A video he posted on March 16 featured the military veteran-turned-independent journalist speaking with locals struck by shrapnel during the attacks.

He also talked to a pair of teenage boys recovering from shrapnel wounds. They recounted the shock of being hit, and lauded the bravery of first responders who saved their lives.

“This type of reckless bomb lobbing is sadly to be expected when the U.S. is sending its weapons to neo-Nazi military members who advocate for the genocide of all Russians and citizens living in the Donetsk region,” InfoWars‘ Kelen McBreen wrote.

Western artillery contribute to deaths in Donetsk

Over at Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had suffered more than 1,100 casualties amid fighting in the city of Bakhmut. He also claimed that Moscow-backed troops had sustained 1,500 “sanitary losses,” i.e. soldiers who suffered grave injuries that would keep them out of further battlefield action.

Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense said Russian units had killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members in a span of 24 hours from March 12 to 13.

“In the Donetsk direction… more than 220 Ukrainian servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle, three armored fighting vehicles, seven vehicles, as well as a D-30 howitzer were destroyed during the day,” it said.

Civilians in Donetsk are nevertheless being caught in the crossfire, most especially shelling from Ukraine. Given that artillery shells cannot distinguish friend from foe, several of them hit non-military targets in Donetsk.

Lancaster showed shrapnel from an artillery round that matched munitions from the West. According to residents he talked to, it was launched from Ukraine-controlled territory. The said round had hit a civilian apartment in Donetsk.

In another instance, he also recorded the aftermath of another artillery barrage that landed just outside the center of Donetsk. This attack killed several civilians, including a taxi driver and his young son.

The independent journalist ultimately emphasized in his report how the mainstream media is covering up the damages caused by Western weapons donated to Ukraine. (Related: UK’s ammo stockpiles are “dangerously low” after sending generous military aid to Ukraine.)

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Watch Lancaster’s live report about the young victims of shelling in Donetsk below.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.