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What did 12 April 2018 bring to Luhansk airwaves?
Summary
A retrospective on a test broadcast aimed at occupied Luhansk region, set against fresh US sanctions on Russian entities.
What was switched on for viewers in occupied parts of Luhansk region on 12 April 2018? The television channel UATV began broadcasting in test mode to those territories, according to reports from that day.
The launch came six days after Washington announced new sanctions on Russian targets. On 6 April 2018, the United States imposed sanctions 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 legal basis of the sanctions
The measures fell under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA. The law imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea and Russia, and works by preventing US companies from doing business with sanctioned entities. The Senate passed it on 27 July 2017 by 98 votes to 2, after the House approved it 419 to 3. President Donald Trump signed it on 2 August 2017, though he believed the legislation was seriously flawed.
Two tracks, one week
The two developments were of different kinds: one was a financial and legal measure announced in Washington, the other a broadcast directed at people living in occupied territory. Both, however, concerned the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia's role in the region, and both took place within the first fortnight of April 2018.
