“Ukraine Today is an information channel. Russia today is an instrument of propaganda. Full stop”

The international new broadcaster, which was launched less than a month ago by 1+1, has been working at full capacity. The channel is targeted at European TV audience and claims to have a prospect New Europe has. Today the UT, apart from Ukrainian events, highlights world news in culture, sports, business, and politics, etc. So far the information blocs that were prepared in advance are being released, in the future the channel plans to open its own studio and add live broadcasts.

Ukraine Today recently exposed Russian propaganda live on the Kremlin television. General Producer of Ukraine Today Tetiana Pushnova called to stop Russian information war against Ukraine. “You are responsible for deaths of thousands of innocent people in Ukraine. Russia Today is financed by the Kremlin to lie about Ukraine. Therefore I refuse to talk with you about anything and call upon my colleagues in the world to stop cooperating with Russia Today,” Pushnova said live to the host. After this the broadcasting was stopped, and the host said, “We’ve been trolled.”

Pushnova refused to comment on the questions of Russian journalists out of considerations of journalist ethic. However, the caption “Russia Today Stop Lie” appeared on Ukraine Today.

This speech is a gesture of solidarity of the channel Ukraine Today with all Ukrainian patriots, Ukrainian and foreign journalists who are professionally fighting against Russian information dirt and total violation of standards and ethic of the profession, with the friends of Ukraine abroad, who are under incredible pressure of propaganda and whose access to truthful information is often limited. Tetiana Pushnova appeared in Russia Today studio in a T-shirt with a Ukrainian coat of arms laid with flowers in support of Nadia Savchenko, who had the same T-shirt at a trial in Russia. It is not the first time when Ukraine Today is defending against the assault of Russian information diversion and primitive manipulations. So, fake accounts using the logo of Ukraine Today and spreading anti-Ukrainian propaganda are created on the web on a regular basis.

The Day asked General Producer of Ukraine Today Tetiana PUSHNOVA on the first steps of the project.

“We launched Ukraine Today in unrealistically short terms,” Pushnova says, “From the first day the feedback of the audience overcame our expectations. People from the entire world connect us via social media, offer help, advice, volunteering, and cooperation. We are broadcasting via a satellite in Europe, but we have also formed an active audience in Australia, Canada, and the US. We have found our target audience by 100 percent: these are educated people with an active life position, who are interested in access to objective news about the Ukrainian events. At the beginning we are working in a format of news blocs, like Euronews. Next year we are planning to launch live news programs with hosts in the studio and talk-shows. Besides, we want to launch our own production: publicist and information programs. We have started to present special reports from the ATO area, made mainly by reporters of the TSN. We are planning to launch a correspondent network in other countries.”

What prevails, Ukrainian or international news?

“Ukraine Today highlights the entire spectrum of news, tells about political and geopolitical events, culture, society, sports, and everyday routine. Of course, at the moment big attention is attached to Ukrainian events, which is why namely the Ukrainian themes prevail.”

Does the channel have any international partners?

“We are on the stage of signing the agreements with our partners in Poland and Baltic counties. We also plan to be broadcasted from a satellite in the US and Canada.”

Are you broadcasting in Russian?

“No, but we plant to. After the German version is launched.”

How do you fight the trolling of the Russian TV channels? How can one distinguish between the original account and a fake one?

“We don’t consider Russian TV channels as rivals and are not trying to keep away from them. Our task is to objectively highlight the news, be a reliable source of information and a mirror of real events that are taking place in Ukraine and around it for the audiences all over the world.

“We’ve had an experience when fake accounts were created on Facebook and YouTube which spread openly anti-Ukrainian content. It’s hard to distinguish between them visually, because they have a logotype of the channel. But we operatively trace the emergence of such fake pages and demand the administration of networks to remove them.

“Ukraine Today is an information channel. Russia Today is an instrument of propaganda. Full stop. We are making news about real facts. This is more honest, more professional, and considerably cheaper.”