£4.1 million in additional funding has been allocated to the BBC World Service by government to support Ukrainian and Russian language services in Eastern Europe.
The funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Foreign Office comes after the BBC made a request for additional financial support to help cover urgent and unforeseen costs that come as a direct result of the war in Ukraine.
The emergency funding is intended to help ensure the continued delivery of independent, impartial and accurate news coverage to those in Ukraine and Russia, to help combat misleading Russian propaganda, Westminster says.
The government has also played up the key role that BBC World Service channels, including TV, radio and digital outlets, will all have in pushing back against disinformation coming from Moscow.
Nadine Dorries, the UK culture secretary, commented: “The government is providing the BBC with an additional £4.1 million in emergency funding to help the World Service broadcast directly into Ukraine and Russia.
“In scenes reminiscent of 80 years ago, the BBC will ensure that audiences in the region can continue to access independent news reporting in the face of systemic propaganda from a dictator waging war on European soil. It’s vital we lift the veil on and expose the barbaric actions of Putin’s forces.”
The costs of continuing to provide such key information to locals in the region are mainly rising because media staff are being required to operate within a warzone inside Ukraine. Within Russia, a crackdown on independent reporting is also underway, posing a different sort of challenge.
The funds will be used to help the BBC relocate its staff and operations to safe zones and ensure that its news coverage continues to reach those in Ukraine and Russia.
To help those in Ukraine and Russia get around media restrictions imposed by the Russian state, some of the funds will be used to facilitate the delivery of new and more accessible content through various different channels.
James Cleverly, minister for Europe and North America, said: “Britain is calling out Putin’s lies and exposing his propaganda and fake news. This new funding will help strengthen the BBC’s impartial voice in Russia and Ukraine, which is critical to counter Russian disinformation and will help ensure we win the battle for the airwaves.”
Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash
