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What did 12 April 2018 bring for Ukraine's east?
Summary
A look back at a test broadcast aimed at occupied Luhansk region, set against US sanctions imposed days earlier.
What happened on 12 April 2018 in the information space around eastern Ukraine? The television channel UATV began broadcasting in test mode to the occupied territories of Luhansk region.
The launch was a technical trial rather than a full start of regular programming, and the reports of the day described it only as a test-mode transmission directed at the occupied part of the region.
Sanctions days earlier
The broadcast came six days after the United States announced sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. On 6 April 2018, Washington imposed measures on twelve Russian-owned companies, a Russian arms exporter and a bank. The US cited several reasons, among them Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and military engagements in Ukraine, Crimea and Syria.
The act itself was a US federal law covering Iran, North Korea and Russia. It was passed by the Senate on 27 July 2017 by 98 votes to 2, after the House had approved it by 419 to 3. President Donald Trump signed it into law on 2 August 2017, although he believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
The two developments were separate. One was a US sanctions step that named Ukraine and Crimea among its grounds; the other was a broadcasting launch aimed at residents of occupied Luhansk region. Both fell within the same week of April 2018.
