In a concerning development, russia has persistently engaged in not only military aggression but also in acts of information sabotage, notably targeting the transmission of Ukrainian TV channels. Since the outset of March, russia's interference has been particularly evident in the deliberate jamming of satellite signals carrying Ukrainian media, specifically on the Astra4A and Hotbird13E satellites operated by European telecommunications giants SES and Eutelsat.

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Impact.

On March 28, 2024, a significant external interference incident occurred, targeting the broadcasting of Ukrainian TV via the Astra4A satellite. At approximately 9:30 a.m., hostile forces attempted to disrupt the signals of various channels under the 1+1 media umbrella, including "1+1 Ukraine", "1+1 Marathon", "TET", "PLUSPLUS", "Bigudi", "2+2", and "UNIAN", among others. Consequently, Ukrainian viewers were subjected to russian propaganda content, momentarily replacing their intended programming, including the United News telethon.

By 11 a.m., the issue was swiftly rectified, and satellite broadcasting resumed its normal operation. However, it's imperative to recognize that such incidents represent ongoing attempts by russia to sow disinformation, particularly targeting regions bordering temporarily occupied territories.

Despite the restoration, it's evident that such interference is part of a broader strategy by russia to disorient the public and propagate hostile narratives, particularly affecting regions near temporarily occupied territories.

1+1 media did not comment on who was involved and how the cyber group managed to carry out the attack.

Recent attacks.

"Suspilne Ukraine" has reported an attempted jamming of their satellite signal originating from russia, marking the second such incident on the Astra satellite.

The attack, which occurred on March 13, targeted from the space communications center "Medvezh'i Ozera" in the Moscow suburbs. This attempt disrupted several TV channels, including "Pershiy", "Suspilne Culture", "Suspilne Crimea", "Suspilne News", "Suspilne Sport", and radio stations affiliated with Suspilne.

Lasting for an hour, the attack rendered television and radio channels inaccessible via satellite. However, broadcasting services have since been restored.

This incident isn't isolated, as russia previously attempted to interfere with Suspilne's TV channels in November 2023, indicating a pattern of disruptive behavior aimed at suppressing media voices.

After that in the morning of March 16th, there was also a signal outage detected for the broadcasting of "FreeDom" and "Dim" channels on the Hot Bird 13G satellite. Perpetrators substituted the broadcasting of "FreeDom" with different content. The attack also resulted in the disruption of broadcasting for all channels within the package, including Ukrainian-language channels.

In light of these challenges, it's crucial for Ukrainians to exercise caution and maintain information hygiene to thwart the enemy's efforts in spreading misleading narratives. The actions undertaken by the russian federation underscore its persistent endeavors to destabilize Ukraine.

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Additionally
On March 7th, the Cabinet of Ministers allocated 152 million hryvnias from the state budget's reserve fund to the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine for the construction of a system to block the transmission of programs from hostile TV and radio channels in border areas.

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_{Author: Nessa, Cyber Journalist}

_{Source: https://media.1plus1.ua/en}

_{Photo: Joe/Pixabay}