Donetsk, Feb 4 - DAN. The YouTube video hosting has violated the basic UN principles concerning the right to freedom of information, Donetsk People’s Republic People’s Militia deputy commander Eduard Basurin said on Friday.
Earlier reports said that the administration of the popular video hosting YouTube had blocked the official channels of the DPR Information Ministry and People’s Militia. On top of that, the channel of the Lugansk Media Centre was removed and the accounts of the LPR State Television and Radio Company and the press service of the LPR People’s Militia were blocked.
“These web resources were very popular not only with residents of the independent Republics but also with Ukrainian and international users,” Basurin said. “Their quickly-posted stories were always reliable and unbiased, and practically all world news agencies constantly used them.”
Overall, the channels had a more than 2-million-strong audience. Ukraine accounted for more than half of visits. The DPR militia does not rule out that the attack on these web resources was part of the information campaign CRUSHING SWORD unleased by Ukrainian and western secret services, he added.
“The blocking of DPR and LPR web resources is a violation of the UN fundamental norms and principles on the right to freedom of information. The objective is the information blockade of the independent Republics, to deprive us of the opportunity to inform the international community on the Kiev regime preparations for aggression in Donbass,” the DPR militia deputy commander said.
In the past few months, Kiev and the West have been making statements alleging the threat of Russian invasion. This pretext was used to mass considerable forces next to the contact line in Donbass. Earlier, the DPR reported the massing of some 120,000 Ukrainian servicemen in the region. The enemy group had been reinforced with radicals, multiple launch rocket systems and NATO weapons. Drills by chemical warfare troops and deliveries of ammunition on all axes were reported as well. *jk