KYIV. April 18 (Interfax) - Investigators from the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) have opened a terrorism inquiry into the takeover of the television tower in Kramatorsk, SBU spokeswoman Maryna Ostapenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
"An inquiry has begun into the armed attack and seizure by unidentified individuals in camouflage, with St. George's ribbons, of the television tower near Karachun Mountain in the town of Kramatorsk, the Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communication and Television Consortium of Ukraine (KRRT). The people who seized the television tower set up equipment for receiving Russian television instead of the Ukrainian TV," she said.
The situation around the Kramatorsk television tower remains complicated: one minute it is seized, the next moment it is freed, Ostapenko said.
It was reported that on April 17 ten gunmen entered the KRRT facilities in Kramatorsk at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday, massed along the perimeter and gained access to the equipment.
Subsequently they started bringing in their own satellite equipment for receiving and installing Russian channels while at the same time switching off the Ukrainian ones.
This radio and television transmission center distributes the television signal to Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, Horlivka and Makiyivka.
On Friday KRRT staff in Kramatorsk together with SBU officers managed to stop the broadcasting of Russian channels, and the gunmen left the facility.
A while later the gunmen regained control over the radio and television station.