Kyiv unveiled plans on the launch of Ukrainian broadcasting in Crimea
In 2018, Ukrainian authorities intend to start airing to the annexed Crimea several Ukrainian television channels and seven national radio stations, all via two towers, according to a recent post on Facebook written by Serhii Kostynskyi, a member of the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine.
Kostynskyi illustrated his post with a picture of the launch of broadcasting from a transmission tower in Chaplynka in Kherson oblast, not far from the Russian border. “The opening was symbolic as it signifies a new phase in national broadcasting in the far- south of Kherson oblast and the Crimean territory,” he said. According to Kostynskyi, the coverage will encompass the whole Krasnoperekopsk district of the Crimea.
Kostynskyi also said that the height of the broadcasting tower in Chaplynka was expected to be increased from 92 to 133 meters in the first half of 2018. Moreover, next year Kyiv planned to start broadcasting a package of five digital and two analogue television channels into the Crimea. In addition, eight radio stations will start transmitting their signals to the Crimea next year, too.
The so-called Deputy Minister of Internal Policy, Information, and Communications of the Russian-controlled authorities in the annexed Crimea, Maksym Yakovlev, confirmed to RBC news agency that Ukraine was preparing to launch broadcasting in the peninsula from the two towers. “They’ve increased the height of the towers for this purpose, so that the signal can reach the Crimea,” he said.
In mid-August, Kyiv started testing the broadcasting of five Ukrainian channels into the Crimea. Previously the signal was transmitted via a single tower built in Chonhar. In February the tower was re-equipped with new powerful transmitters.
In September, the Russian-controlled authorities in Crimea stated that attempts by Ukraine to launch broadcasting in the territory of the peninsula had failed. The so-called Minister of Internal Policy, Information, and Communications, Dmitry Polonsky, said this was because the Crimean population was not interested in events in mainland Ukraine.