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| - Ukraine has launched a new television channel broadcasting to regions controlled by Russia-backed separatists and in Moscow-annexed Crimea, with the aim of winning over residents who mainly watch Russian channels. Called Dim, or "home" in Ukrainian, the channel started broadcasting on Sunday, Yuliya Ostrovska, CEO of public broadcaster UATV, told AFP. The broadcaster wants to "put Ukraine's political, cultural and social life back on the agenda" for residents of separatist-controlled areas and "arouse a sense of unity", Ostrovska is quoted as saying on the channel's website. Currently residents of Russia-annexed Crimea and the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine mainly have access to Russian channels. The channel will broadcast content from leading Ukrainian networks including dramas, talk shows and football matches, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, quoted by Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Dim will soon start producing its own news reports, he said. Some of the channel's shows are provided by Kvartal 95, the production company that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky co-owned in the days when he performed as a comedian. The new channel is available on digital in most parts of the separatists' self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, Ostrovska told AFP. However several people living in the city of Donetsk told AFP they could not find the channel on their television sets and could only view Russian and separatist channels. Zelensky used to play a school teacher who becomes president in a popular television series made by Kvartal 95 called "Servant of the People". Since coming to power in May, he has sought to kickstart a peace process to end the conflict in the east and reached out to the people in the separatist areas and Crimea, in a change of strategy from predecessor Petro Poroshenko. More than 13,000 people have been killed since fighting between Kiev forces and Russia-backed separatists broke out in 2014. os-ant-osh/am/gd
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