Ukraine to launch TV channel for residents of Donbas
On November 30, Volodymyr Borodyansky, who heads the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, said in an interview to Mirror Weekly (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia) that the TV channel for residents of the Donbas areas that are not controlled by Ukraine will be launched in February 2020.
He specified that broadcasting of this TV channel would be carried out only in the territory of the Donbas. The new channel is created based on the UATV channel. Broadcasting will take place in Ukrainian and Russian languages.
"Our task is to make sure that people in the temporarily occupied territories know the truth about what is happening in Ukraine so that we would be able to start a dialogue with people living in this territory, where this TV channel will be broadcasted. First, we intend to start a discussion with the scientists. And our task is to convey truthful information," said Borodyansky.
Earlier, the Minister said that for the creation of such a TV channel, 440 million hryvnias ($18.4 million USD) of the budget could be spent. The concept of the channel is supposed to be information and entertainment.
In early November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on urgent measures to reform and strengthen the governance. The document refers to the regulation of the activities of the media.
The Ukrainian government should prepare "provisions on news requirements and standards, mechanisms for preventing the dissemination of inaccurate, distorted information, and its refutation" until December 31.