.png)
Ukrainians tired of ‘state propaganda’ on TV – NYT
- Telemarathon United News was created on the order of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and gets 40% its funding from the government.
- Opposition channels have been denied participation in the project.
- ”But, after two years of conflict, “Ukrainians have grown weary of Telemarathon,” the paper acknowledged.
- Viewers now increasingly complain that it “often paints too rosy a picture of the war, hiding worrying developments on the frontline and the West’s eroding support for Ukraine,” it said.
Telemarathon’s audience has shrunk from 40% of Ukraine’s total viewership in March 2022 to just 10%, according Svetlana Ostapa, deputy chief editor of Detector Media, a Ukrainian media watchdog.
“Everyone is fed up with this picture that says ‘We’re winning, everyone likes us and gives us money,’” the head of the Kiev-based Institute of Mass Information, told the NYT.
“It’s state propaganda.”
- However, it was “a completely different reality” from what was actually happening on the ground, he pointed out.
The NYT stressed that the experts see Ukrainian viewers switching away from Telemarathon, often to reality shows and entertainment programs, as “a sign of wider popular disenchantment with the government, as victory on the battlefield becomes elusive.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
White House warns of ‘dire’ Ukraine aid situation
- The US provided Ukraine with a $250 million arms package in late December, deemed the last one due to a lack of funding.
- According to Young, the administration of President Joe Biden decided to forgo its drawdown authority, allowing it to take weapons from existing US stockpiles and send them to Kiev.
- These stocks cannot be refilled without funding that is yet to be approved by Congress.
The Pentagon still has some limited authority to provide the Ukrainian military with weapons, but “that is not going to get big tranches of equipment into Ukraine,” the official added.
Earlier this week, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder also said the US Defense Department was running “out of money” for Ukraine.
The situation with the aid for Ukraine is nothing short of “dire,” Young admitted, warning of an event when the US would potentially have to stop its assistance to Kiev completely.
“Yes, Kiev might have a little time from other donors to make sure they can keep their war footing, keep the civil service, but what happens in the [European Union], in other NATO allies, if the US pulls out their support?” she told journalists at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
The official warned that such a development might also prompt other nations to withdraw their support for Kiev. “What message does that send to the rest of the world? And what will their decisions be if they see the United States not step up to the plate?”
Biden urged lawmakers to pass a massive aid package, including some $61 billion for Kiev, in late October 2023. The bill remained stuck in Congress for months amid Republican opposition, which demanded a stricter border protection policy. The legislation was eventually left in limbo after Congress shelved it late last year, postponing discussions until after the holiday break.
- A planned 4-year scheme worth some €50 billion ($55 billion) was vetoed by Hungary late last year, with deliberations on it pushed into 2024.
- He also reiterated Kiev’s demands for combat drones, long-range missiles, and air defense capabilities, among other gear.
No comments:
Post a Comment