Russian drones hit the TV tower and a Concern for Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications, and Television (CRRT) facility during the overnight strike in Kryvyi Rih (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) on 6 March. The digital broadcasting signal in the city went down as a result of the strike, Olena Demchenko, Dnipropetrovsk oblast representative of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting, reported to Kateryna Lysiuk, regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI).

Demchenko said that the strikes had damaged both the TV and radio tower itself and the building next to it. Some of the equipment might have survived, but all power supply to the facility was disabled for safety reasons while the prosecutors, police, SBU, and the military are working on site.

Olena Demchenko, Dnipropetrovsk oblast representative of the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting. Photo shared with IMI by Olena Demchenko

“All the equipment there is damaged, and what might have stayed intact has been switched off. Because all power supply to [the TV tower] has been disabled to ensure safety. As of now, I can’t speak to the extent of the damage if quick restoration is possible, because the Concern’s staff haven’t been allowed there yet to see it all,” said Olena Demchenko.

The CRRT’s Technical Director Serhiy Semerey told IMI that the facility was hit by three drones. According to him, Russian troops are purposefully targeting telecom objects.

CRRT’s Technical Director Serhiy Semerey. Photo by Detector Media

“In this case, it was three Shahed drones, two of which hit our tower in Kryvyi Rih and one hit an infrastructure facility. As of now, all means of broadcasting, both radio and television, are damaged. For now [as of 2:30 p.m., – Ed.] we have managed to restore several radio programs, but digital television is doing much worse, because the fleet of receiving antennas has been destroyed completely,” said Serhiy Semerey.

At the moment when the drones attacked the facility, the staff were in a bomb shelter, so there were no casualties, he added.

The digital television equipment was in the damaged TV tower. All transmitters are now off due to the power outage and the damage. Ther is no signal in the city from any digital television multiplexes: MX-1, MX-2, MX-3 and MX-5, each of which can include up to 32 TV channels. As a result, about 130 national and local T2 broadcasters are temporarily unavailable.

“Well, in terms of local broadcasters we only have Rudana there. The rest are those included in the multiplexes, but as for the local ones, it’s only Pershyi Miskyi and Rudana,” said Olena Demchenko.

Disruption in radio broadcasting

The damage to the CRRT equipment resulted in three radio stations temporarily going off air: Lux FM (91.6 FM), Classic Radio (103.2 FM), and Power FM (103.6 FM). The local stations Megapolis and Radio Kryvbas have backup transmitters and have already resumed broadcasting.

Olena Demchenko also added that CRRT technicians have not yet been allowed to enter the facility, so they have not been able to assess the scale of the damage or determine which equipment needs to be repaired. Until then, digital television broadcasting in Kryvyi Rih will remain disabled, and the work of some radio stations will be suspended.