Ukraine remains defiant despite the
mixed messaging from the US president.
Zalinski made it clear on Sunday that
Ukraine will continue to fight for its
freedom. The area here in red shows how
much territory Russia now has control
of. But Moscow wants the whole of the
Dombas region which is rich in
resources. Tens of thousands of soldiers
have died on both sides for the smallest
gains in territory here. Russia now
controls most of it and the fighting
there is more ferocious than ever. Our
international correspondent Quentyn
Somerville and camera journalist Darren
Conway have spent the past week in the
frontline town of Doorilia. And a
warning, their report contains detail of
injured soldiers.
The threat comes from the skies, and
Ukraine's miles of anti- drone netting
only offers some protection.
We're following a team of rescue
volunteers to the front. There's an FPV
drone, a Russian drone, uh overhead. So
moving as quickly as we can to get out
of here because Russia has been
targeting the evacuation convoys as
well.
>> They've come to evacuate people from the
frontline town of Dobrailia,
but the Russian drone is still overhead.
We're told to take cover.
>> Stay on the trees. Stay on the tree.
>> The detector not only identifies drones,
it sees the Russian operator's live TV
signal.
>> Get out of the car. Out of the cars.
>> And it's getting closer. Get out of the
cars. Out of the cars.
>> Out of cows. Out of the cars. Out of the
cars.
>> We head for better cover. The drone is
on the hunt. But Lars and Varia have
done this run dozens of times. So they
watch and wait.
They can see the drone's explosive
charge. It's
>> an RPG warhead.
>> Drone jamming equipment is turned on,
but it doesn't combat all threats.
coming down this road.
>> As he looks for visual confirmation,
Lars calls in the sighting to other
rescue teams.
>> The FPV is in Malusion and we're
currently hiding in the building waiting
it out. If anyone else has mold evac, do
not go there. It was clearly visible and
it was on 3.3 GHz. They're hunting down
here and there was a RPG warhead
underneath.
But still there are people to be
evacuated from here
even as the bombs start falling.
>> 24 36 and something else that
>> eventually they find Tatiana and her son
Anton.
>> What's the most dangerous part of this
job?
>> Actually drones because drones are for
us. They are flying all over us in the
sky. It's FPV. It's ammonia etc. And
they aiming exactly the volunteer
vehicles.
>> Most of the population has left Doilia.
The shelling is constant and they
haven't had water here for a week.
painful.
>> We can war.
>> Towns are lost and won and lost again.
And people are evacuated from their
homes time after time. Donbass is now
firmly on the negotiating table. And so
for the people here, people who've lived
here for generations, these may be
permanent goodbyes. Let's go.
>> But still, Tatiana isn't ready to
abandon her home.
>> Go out of doubleilia as soon as we can.
As fast as we can.
The young one behind me. How old is he?
>> You have no 15.
>> 16.
>> 15.
>> All right. The young dude is uh
underage, so we go out maximum speed.
Good luck. Their car is full of
evacuees. So Anton rides with us.
>> Do you think Ukraine should give up
Donbas for peace?
>> I think we need to sit at the
negotiating table and resolve this
conflict in a peaceful way without
blood, without victims
because war is very scary and it's very
painful. It's just horrible.
Russia is creeping forward here and we
move forward too. Near Doilia, small
groups of its troops broke through
Ukrainian lines. Ukraine says they've
been pushed back, but as we saw for
ourselves, it came at great cost.
We head to a field hospital not far from
the fiercest combat.
Here we have to kill the lights.
Everything is a target.
Go, go.
>> It's the medic's busiest time. The
injured can only be collected under the
cover of darkness.
So, it's all hands on duty tonight.
Senior left tenant Dimma is one of the
surgeons.
The soldier on the gurnie has lost most
of his right leg in a drone attack.
[Music]
It took days to recover some of these
men from the battlefield.
>> Tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have
died for Donbas.
>> Yes.
>> Is it worth it?
>> It's a different It's a complicated
question. Yes, I think it is because
it's our country. It's our
land and it's
our freedom from from Russian.
>> I think it is.
>> So they're holding on here with all
their might.
>> Too busy fighting and suffering to pay
much attention to faroff peace talks.
>> This man has a bullet wound to the
chest. Much of the combat here has been
at close range.
About a quarter of the injuries they get
here are gunshot wounds. Most come from
drones. This medical stabilization point
you see they've never seen so many heavy
injuries.
And this is why Russia doesn't want a
ceasefire. Ukrainian casualties are
mounting. And here in the Donbas they're
on the back foot. Russian casualties
are higher
but it can sustain them. So for Moscow,
it's a ruthless calculation.
>> Keep fighting on the battlefield and
make bigger gains at the negotiating
table.
>> We have to stop it, but we don't want to
stop it like this. We won't back our
territory, our people,
and we have to punish Russia for what
they did.
>> Do you miss civilian life? Do you miss
peace? Of course. Of course I miss it.
And everybody misses.
We want we just want to go home to live
in peace without this nightmare,
this blood, death
and all this.
>> And every day brings a fresh nightmare.
Russia bombed 72-year-old Ivan's
hospital. Now he's searching for his
wife.
>> If you bring my wife to me, it would be
a great gift.
For him, there will be no peace until he
finds her.
Much more than just land will be lost
here if Dombas is surrendered.
Quentyn Somerville, BBC News. Doorilia.
Well, you can read more from Quentin
Somerville. He's been writing for the
BBC News website about his time there on
the Ukrainian front lines and of course
with residents who are having to leave
their homes. His report there from
Donetsk. You can read on BBC website and
on the news app