U.S. backs freedom of media in Ukraine, provide equipment to broadcast in Donbas – US Deputy Assistant Secretary

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent, who arrived in Kyiv, has said that the United States support freedom of media in Ukraine, including in the non-government controlled areas (NGCAs).

"The United States has long supported freedom of media in Ukraine and access to diverse, objective news and information. We have supported our Ukrainian partners' latest efforts by providing high quality broadcasting equipment that will provide quality Ukrainian content to over four million residents in the south and east of Ukraine. This will include as many as two million who currently do not have access to Ukrainian broadcasting," Kent said at a press conference in Kyiv, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine reported on Friday on its website.

Kent said that this equipment will provide access to a diverse range of public and commercial stations, similar to anywhere else in Ukraine.

"This investment that we make together in those regions today will help ensure a stronger, united Ukraine in the future," Kent said.

He recalled that last year, Ukraine updated its Information Reintegration Strategy for the Donbas and Crimea to extend Ukrainian broadcasting into regions where it is most needed.

Kent also said that since 2014, the United States has provided over $3 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including in the spheres of: security; economics and energy; governance and information.

"The United States will continue to stand with Ukraine, support efforts to resist Russian malign influence, and to build a more democratic, prosperous, secure Ukraine," Kent said.