Top news stories about the Russia-Ukraine war on Russia's Channel One on Wednesday, June 1, 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.

In Kharkiv, militants yet again set up firing points and an ammunition depot in a hospital

 

Kiev militants are yet again hiding behind people, using them as human shields. In Kharkiv, firing points and an ammunition depot were set up in a hospital. Staff and patients are being held there. This was reported by our National Defense Control Center. A stronghold and armored vehicles are in a medical institution in Odessa. 

The situation is the same in Kramatorsk, where patients are kept in the basement of a children’s clinic. In Chasov Yar, the nationalists kicked out sick people from a clinic in order to make room for their own wounded radicals. Roadblocks have been set up on the outskirts of the hospital. The Ukrainian army continues to shell Donbas. Attacks were launched in Donetsk, Yasinovataya, Gorlovka, Panteleymonovka. Yesterday, after an attack in Makiivka, three hours were spent putting out a fire at a factory. 

The Russian military is restoring normal life in Kupyansk, which the Kiev authorities literally paralyzed

 

There is electricity, functioning transportation, and trade. Normal life is returning to Kupyansk. At the beginning of the special military operation to protect Donbas, our fighters entered the city without resistance. In retaliation, the Kiev regime did everything possible to harm the residents. The city was even left without water supplies. But thanks to Russian assistance, the situation is changing. Reporting by Ivan Prozorov.

Prozorov said: “The local market is now accepting [Russian] rubles. Little by little, trade is returning after the lull. The Ukrainian authorities abandoned the Kupyansk residents after the Russian military came here. They are now helping to organize the delivery of products.”

He continued: “Russian currency is already in the hands of residents – pensioners have been given 10,000 rubles. There is always a queue at the building where pensioners get this one time payment. Almost all pensioners, who have been coming here for four months, have not received pensions, which the Ukrainian authorities are obliged to pay. Russia’s assistance is significant.”

The Russian military delivered 20 tons of humanitarian aid to Kharkiv 

 

The Russian military is restoring peace in the city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region. Construction materials were delivered here to repair the Ascension Cathedral, which was damaged due to the shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The church was built in the first half of the 19th century and even survived the Great Patriotic War. It was directly hit three times by Ukrainian shells.

The building survived, but the facade was seriously damaged — glass was broken and the bell tower was damaged. Izyum residents hid from the bombing in the basement of the cathedral. Now, there are enough materials to completely restore the building, so that soon the residents will be able to attend its services.

Washington announced the 11th package of military assistance to Ukraine

 

The official package of military assistance to Ukraine is expected to be presented in the coming days. The main question is what kind of weapons will be transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine? The State Department is still avoiding answering the question, the media is not.

Several publications, referring to a high-ranking official from the American administration, reported that longer-range missile systems are being prepared for shipment, although President Biden on Monday refused to provide Kiev with missiles that are capable of reaching Russia. The package may also include anti-tank weapons, helicopters, and a large amount of ammunition worth $700 million.

Germany will soon have the largest army in Europe among NATO countries

 

Europe is not excluded from this effort. Slovakia has promised Ukraine self-propelled howitzers, which have a range of  40 kilometers. And Greece is sending infantry fighting vehicles, which were produced back in the GDR [German Democratic Republic]. In return, Athens will receive modernized armored vehicles from Berlin.

The German authorities, which back in April declared that they had exhausted the possibility of supplying weapons from their reserves, are now asserting that soon the FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] will have the largest army in Europe among the NATO countries. A fund of 100 billion euros was created for the Bundeswehr. According to media reports, more than 40 billion of these will go to strengthening the air force.

The UK and EU agree to ban insurance on ships carrying Russian oil

The West has taken another step in the economic war. The UK and the EU have agreed to ban insurance on ships carrying Russian oil to drastically limit our export options, according to the Financial Times. Experts say that first the origin of oil cargo on ships needs to be established, which is not a straightforward task.

Poland has gone even further, with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki calling for the introduction of secondary sanctions to ban the supply of our hydrocarbons to countries outside the EU. China became the main buyer of our oil last year. It would be interesting to see how Europe intends to force Beijing to refuse beneficial cooperation with Moscow.

Valentina Matviyenko said the partial embargo on Russian oil is only harming the West

The economy and the special operation to protect Donbas were discussed in Mozambique at a meeting between Valentina Matviyenko and President Felipe Nyusi. Matviyenko, Chairwoman of the [Russian] Federation Council, noted that restrictions only reduce the competitiveness of the European economy. While oil prices are rising, Russia is preparing to redirect supplies to other markets. Matviyenko stressed that sanctions are completely illegal. 

Matviyenko said: “The freeze on Russia’s gold and foreign exchange reserves is the grossest violation of international law… this is simply robbery. It is absolutely illegal when our business accounts are frozen, property is taken away. The sanctions, of course, not only harm Russia. We will endure and get through this. We have a large margin of safety. But they are causing enormous damage to the global economy. Look at what is happening with fuel costs and food prices.”

The President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, said: “In Ukraine, Russia is doing everything possible to avoid civilian casualties. We hope that common points will be found for reaching an agreement and we are ready to assist.”