Donetsk People’s Republic imposes martial law, cuts off Ukrainian TV channels

“Due to the urgent need that arose because of the
threat to Donetsk as a city surrounded by fighting, and to avoid various
incidents and save civilian lives, as a measure to strengthen law and order,
the militia command hereby imposes martial law and a curfew,” reads a document posted to its official Twitter
account, adding that the curfew will run daily from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

The Ukrainian government has mulled imposing martial
law in Donetsk and Luhansk on a number of occasions, with several draft decrees
submitted to parliament in recent weeks. On July 14, independent MP Anatoly
Hrytsenko told Ukraine’s 112 TV channel that the idea had received support from
a number of his colleagues.

“The
firm advice from the factions representing the majority in parliament says it
is necessary to introduce martial law. It brings more possibilities for
controlling the situation, including all material flows,” Interfax cited
Hrytsenko as saying. 

Alongside the imposition of martial law, the self-styled
republic announced in a parallel post to its Twitter account that, as of July
15, all Ukrainian TV channels across the territory it claims to control had
been switched off.  

“Russian TV channels will soon begin broadcasting
again,” the announcement said, adding that several other Russian channels
including state-run news service Rossiya 24 will be introduced.

Since their retreat to Donetsk following the army’s recapture
of their former stronghold of Sloviansk, rebel forces remain in control of the
broadcasting infrastructure responsible for most of the city’s television
coverage.

In the meantime, Ukrainian TV channels have begun
broadcasting once again in cities and towns newly liberated by Ukrainian
forces. Ukraine’s Broadcasting, Radiocommunications and Television (BRT)
Concern reported in a press release that the number of Ukrainian channels
broadcast in areas controlled by the army will be increased to at least 10,
Interfax reported on July 16.

Andriy Lytsenko, spokesman for Ukraine’s Security
Council, announced on July 15 that a collapsed TV tower near the liberated city
of Sloviansk had been restored. The tower had fallen on July 1 amid heavy
fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian rebels.

Kyiv Post staff writer Matthew Luxmoore can be reached at mjluxmoore@gmail.com and on Twitter at @mjluxmoore.