By Madeline Roache and Jonathan Campion
What follows is NewsGuard’s summary and translation of the top stories about the Russia-Ukraine war from a morning program on Russia’s state TV Channel One. NewsGuard presents these stories in the order that they appear on the program.
The Russian Defense Ministry publishes images of the Iskander tactical missile system at work
In the footage, a strike is made on military infrastructure belonging to Ukrainian forces. According to information provided by our intelligence services, the Ukrainian army had stored weapons and military equipment in warehouses, as well as ammunition for them. This was all being used to equip Ukrainian combat groups.
The target was destroyed with a series of accurate strikes. The missile launcher then left its location at top speed and changed launch positions to implement high-precision launches on new enemy targets.
The territory of the Ilyich factory in Mariupol is being inspected
Together with forces from the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Russian army has cleared the Ilyich factory in Mariupol, and an inspection of the territory is now underway. Our troops are finding caches of weapons, discarded personal items belonging to Ukrainian combatants, illegal substances, and mobile phones.
A Ukrainian prisoner of war has told our correspondent how all these items were intended to be used, and how Kiev’s security chiefs had been living in bunkers. During a reconnaissance mission at the now-secured plant, Sergeant Evgeny Ermolenko revealed that approximately 300 Ukrainian combatants had been hiding there.
Russian soldiers are showing courage and heroism every day during the special operation in Ukraine
While seizing control of a dam, first lieutenant Ilya Pakulov discovered one of the enemy’s crucial lines of defense. He moved towards it in his armored vehicle and drew the enemy fire on himself. As he did so, he identified the nationalists’ firing points and relayed their coordinates to Russian army headquarters. He was wounded in the attack, but still managed to get his group out of danger. He has been awarded the Order of Courage.
Major Dmitry Lysenko adjusted the direction of artillery fire while our troops were liberating a village. Nationalists had hit his post with mortars. Lysenko was wounded by fragments of the shell, and suffered a concussion, but moved to a back-up position and continued to perform the tasks required of him.
Soldier Ilya Kochengin also stayed in his position after being wounded. Together with his group he blocked an advance by radicals in one of the enemy’s villages, opened fire on them with a grenade launcher, and didn’t let the enemy breach their defenses to mount a counterattack.
Russian Mi-8 combat helicopters in Donbass protect convoys of equipment from the air
The advance of our troops is being successfully covered from the air. The convoys of equipment are accompanied by combat helicopters, in particular Mi-8 helicopters. Our Ministry of Defense has released footage of them at work. The main task of these helicopters is to detect enemy ambushes before they happen, and strike if necessary. To do this, the pilots keep at an extremely low altitude.
At the helicopter base, it was explained that the Mi-8 helicopters fly as low as possible in order to give the convoys the closest possible protection, and also to monitor the surroundings.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin make a visit to Kiev
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin have visited Kiev. There has so far been no official announcement about this by the Americans, but the Ukrainian side has provided a few details.
According to one of the Ukrainian president’s advisers, Aleksey Arestovich, Vladimir Zelensky has already met with his transatlantic guests. The Associated Press agency has added that Blinken and Austin announced that Washington will provide Kiev with another instalment of military financing.
The US is refusing even to officially confirm the fact that Blinken and Austin were in Ukraine. The American television channel NBC has explained that they are waiting for them to return home safely before admitting to the trip. Washington remained silent even when Zelensky himself announced their visit.
A rally is held in Germany in support of Russian citizens and against Russophobia in the West
In the German town of Heilbronn, in defiance of all the Russophobic sentiments prevailing in the West, a rally was held in support of our country. Dozens of people joined the protest, despite the fact that it was raining.
Participants carried the Russian and German flags through the streets. Many of them also carried placards with the words: “We are against discrimination.” The high point of the rally, in every sense, was when the crowd released balloons in the colors of the two countries’ flags into the sky.