Ukraine to spend millions of dollars blocking Russian TV
Ukraine has earmarked $4 million (152 million hryvnias) to disrupt Russian TV and radio broadcasts in its regions bordering the country, Kiev’s State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection has revealed.
Ukrainian authorities have been progressively tightening the screws on Russian media since 2014, banning all major TV channels that broadcst in and to the country. Following the start of Moscow’s military campaign in February 2022, Kiev has declared most Russian media content off limits, and has acted to block services that allow consumers to circumvent the restrictions.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has consolidated all media outlets in the country under the state umbrella, citing the martial law imposed after the armed conflict with Moscow began.
In a post on its Telegram channel on Thursday, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine said that the government had allocated the funds “for the construction of a system for blocking the broadcast of enemy TV and radio channels on border territories.”
The new measures will help reduce the “influence of Russian propaganda on the Ukrainian population,” and increase the “level of information security of Ukraine,” officials explained.
The jamming system is expected to cover nine regions, including Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa.
Last week, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Freedom of Speech Committee called for a ban on the encrypted instant-messaging platform Telegram, describing it as a threat to national security.
Back in November, Aleksey Danilov, head of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, argued that the app ought to be banned because of Russian “systems of influence” at work there.
After Moscow launched military action against the neighboring country, most European nations also blocked Russian media outlets from broadcasting on their territories.
Last February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that these bans constituted a blatant violation of the “obligations that [these countries] have undertaken as part of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) to ensure the freedom of the press and equal access to information for the population of all” member states.
On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that German authorities were considering forcing Russian reporters out of the country by refusing to renew their visas. The diplomat warned that “if they lay a finger on Russian correspondents and decide to bring their plans to fruition, then German journalists will leave Russia.”
