Top news stories about the Russia-Ukraine war on Russia's Channel One on Monday, April 18, 2022.

By Madeline Roache

What follows is NewsGuard’s summary and translation of top news stories from Russia’s state TV Channel One. NewsGuard presents these stories in the order that they appear on the program. NewsGuard shares this summary as part of our mission to monitor and report all categories of misinformation, including Russian disinformation. Please note that these summaries of Russian state TV broadcasts may well contain falsehoods or propaganda, and NewsGuard does not vet them for accuracy or balance.

New details emerge about an operation to take control of the Ilyich plant in Mariupol

According to Eduard Basurin, Deputy Head of the people’s militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Colonel Vladimir Baranyuk, the commander of the 36th brigade of marines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was eliminated during the attempt to break through the plant. 

The Donetsk Republic forces then stopped the radicals from breaking out of the encirclement. About 50 Ukrainian soldiers were eliminated and 42 surrendered. 

The very next day, more than a thousand marines, who were left without a commander, including 162 officers, voluntarily laid down their arms. They were in a disastrous situation at the plant. Their food and ammunition had almost run out and many were wounded. How Kiev thought they were going to break through is not very clear. Another deception by the Ukrainian command, which led the military to certain death.

Twenty-five civilians in the Donetsk People’s Republic suffered from shelling by Ukraine 

Shells are exploding in Donbas again. Another 25 civilians were injured in the Donetsk People’s Republic by shelling from Ukraine. Among the wounded was a child. The Petrovsky District of Donetsk came under fire in the morning. The night before, Gorlovka was under fire. Over the past day a total of seven settlements were targeted. Areas of the Lugansk Republic were shelled nine times in the last 24 hours alone. Two women were injured and houses were damaged.

These images, shared by our Ministry of Defense, show the aftermath of the strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian troops fired a Tochka-U missile at a civilian facility, a farm in the village of Tokmak in Zaporozhye. The images show how powerful the blow was. The owner of the farm said that the concrete slabs shattered like a house of cards. Buildings and structures belonging to a private agricultural business have been completely destroyed and it is impossible to restore them.

Residents in liberated areas spoke about what the Ukrainian radicals have done

Residents spent the night in basements, buried loved ones in the yards and were afraid to go out of hiding and onto the street for food and water. Residents of the now liberated territories have spoken about what the Ukrainian militants did. The radicals fired indiscriminately. They kicked people out of shelters. The nationalists left behind a complete devastation. There was no gas, water and electricity.

Maksim Gigoriev, a member of Russia’s Civic Chamber, said: “Local people told us that the Ukrainian military attacked here and other areas. There was no military sense in this, there weren’t any units of the Lugansk People’s Republic here, which means they specifically fired at the homes of civilians.”

New names of heroes who tenaciously and courageously liberate territories from nationalists

Yevgeny Komarov, a senior driver of the automobile battalion, delivered ammunition to the military and came under enemy fire. Despite multiple shrapnel wounds, he brought the car to a safe zone. Our fighters received ammunition in a timely manner and continued their offensive.

Thanks to the decisive actions of Senior Lieutenant Vadim Gavrikov and the tank platoon under his command, one of the settlements was liberated from the gangs. Long-term firing points used by the radicals were destroyed.

A howitzer artillery platoon under the command of Sergeant Nikolai Mikhailov identified and hit the position of nationalists, armed with anti-tank guided missiles, grenade launchers and small arms.

In the liberated Berdyansk, the Russian military helps residents to improve their lives

There is a new life in the liberated Berdyansk without the shelling and atrocities that were carried out by radicals before our military arrived. The nationalists were kicked out of there at the very start of the special operation to protect Donbas, and this became a turning point in the city’s history. Local residents acknowledge that they really wanted Russia’s support. Our fighters continue to help residents improve their lives.

A local resident, Victoria Pahomova, said: “We are so happy that, finally, our motherland came for us, came to rescue us. We suffered so much during this time. You can’t even imagine.” 

Local residents say this is a new chapter in the history of the city. 

There are still problems with getting money and medicine, but strategic businesses in Berdyansk have not stopped working. At a bakery, flour is now delivered from Russia through a humanitarian corridor.  The National Guard has secured safety in Berdyansk since the first day of its liberation from bandit groups.