Member of Ukrainian Supreme Parliamentary Council (Ukrainian Parliament) on National Security Issues, Ivan Stoiko, claims that Russian TV channels are waging informational warfare against Ukraine thereby posing a threat to the state's national security.
Press Service of People's Movement of Ukraine reported that Mr. Stoiko made this statement while commenting on the announcement made by the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation concerning the situation with the Russian language in Ukraine.
"Recently National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council has expressed concern about the tone and attitudes in the programs of Russian TV channels concerning Ukraine. I agree to this statement and I have to state that the deliberate manipulation of facts, which Russian TV channels are resorting to, is making one think about the need to remove Russian TV channels from Ukraine's TV and radio broadcasting space, since they pose a threat to our national security," Mr. Stoiko mentioned.
"Unfortunately, today we cannot be bragging that the Ukrainian broadcasting really is Ukrainian. There is a big threat that Russia is making attempts to influence the Ukrainians and manipulate them. Sure, Ukraine, as any other state, has to defend itself." Stoiko added.
The Ukrainian politician believes that "it is not Russia's business what the Ukrainian broadcasting space should be like. While evaluating the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the total Ukrainization of the air, I can say only one thing: this is another case of their interfering with our internal affairs. We will be dealing with our broadcasting space ourselves. But today what concerns me is that in Crimea and in Southeastern provinces of Ukraine there are more Russian channels being broadcast than Ukrainian ones."
"If you analyze the Russian TV air, it is nothing but negativity about the Ukrainian state. Apparently, this is why we are among the three states that Russians treat worst of all, along with Georgia and the US. Why? Because Russian pro-government ideology is anti-Ukrainian. I think the time has come for Ukrainians and the Ukrainian government to raise the issue of parity concerning mass media. Since we are receiving Russian channels, Russia is supposed to agree to broadcast the Ukrainian channels accordingly. Here there is nothing that would go against our neighborly relationships," as Mr. Stoiko is assured.
"But today Russia in its TV broadcasting covers "distorted" versions of the events in Ukraine, and biased and anti-Ukrainian information gets on the air. We cannot keep quiet. If Russians want to know the truth about Ukraine, they must know it from the Ukrainians and from the Ukrainian media. We must strive so that our TV channels are broadcast in Russia as well. If the Russian side turns down such a scenario, it will be necessary to raise the issue of banning Russian TV channels from being broadcast in Ukraine," Mr. Stoiko stated.
"We can't just be watching Russia or any other country conducting its informational expansion into Ukraine. Informational security or our state depends on it, and informational security is national security, on the whole," Stoiko said.
Earlier it was reported that Russia's Foreign Ministry criticized the plans to exclude the Russian TV channels from the Ukrainian cable network.
Press Secretary of Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Vasily Kirilych, stated that there are no reasons to be talking about any exclusion or any attempts to Ukrainize the national TV broadcasting.
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