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Russia's attempts to spread Kremlin propaganda in occupied areas of Ukraine by replacing home TV satellite dishes with ones that only receive Russian broadcasts, have been met with resistance from local residents, according to reports from the Ukrainian Resistance Center (URC).

Television, mass and social media are key instruments used to spread Russian propaganda and russify residents of temporarily occupied territories.

In just one week, over 1,000 pieces of equipment that enable access to Ukrainian television were taken away, the URC reported on July 21.

"The goal is to completely cleanse the information space," the URC report says, adding Ukraine's "Horynych" TV dishes are being replaced with Russian versions called "Russkiy mir" (Russian world).

The "Russkiy Mir" satellite project was launched in December 2022, aiming to provide "citizens of new territories" with access to Russian television. The project was implemented by Russian President Vladimir Putin's political coalition, All-Russia People's Front.

The project's official website says it was created specifically for Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporozhia oblasts, and Crimea.

Russia occupied Crimea and partially occupied Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts in 2014. After the full-scale war began, Russia also partially occupied the Kherson and Zaporozhia oblasts. Moscow illegally declared the annexation of the four regions in September 2022, despite not controlling them fully.

A Ukrainian police investigator examines debris at the Kharkiv Television Tower after a reported Russian strike on the structure on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, on April 22, 2024. (Sergey Bobok / AFP via Getty Images)

The "Russkiy Mir" channel package includes 20 Kremlin state  TV channels, 10 regional TV channels from the four occupied oblasts, and 11 "entertainment channels," including ones for children.

On May 7, 2024, the Institute for the Study of War said in a report that "the installation of 'Russkiy Mir' satellites in occupied Ukraine allows the Russian government to directly control what news and media residents are consuming, thereby consolidating control over the information space and platforming Kremlin propaganda as mainstream news."

But residents of the occupied territories have boycotted the replacement by refusing to voluntarily switch to "Russkiy Mir," the URC reported on July 27.

According to the report, the resistance "irritates" the local occupation authorities, and Moscow is dissatisfied with the pace of the project.

The Russian-installed head of occupied Kherson, Volodymyr Saldo, said on June 23 that the Kherson Oblast residents can replace TV equipment for free from July 1 until Nov. 30.

Previously, on Feb. 11, Saldo issued a decree recognizing Ukrainian TV satellites as instruments of "enemy propaganda" and prohibited watching it.

On March 31, Yellow Ribbon resistance movement activists said that residents had been warned of systematic inspections in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, with fines and forced confiscation imposed on those using satellite dishes capable of receiving Ukrainian broadcasts. Additionally, private homeowners would be required to dismantle any "suspicious" equipment.

Local authorities claimed 25,000 "Russkiy Mir" satellites were installed in Kherson Oblast during 2023 and 2024.

Resistance in Russian-occupied territories is dangerous — anyone deemed to be defying the occupying authorities faces the very real possibility of imprisonment and torture.

During peace negotiations, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 12 that Ukraine will not recognize any occupied territories as part of Russia.

As talks proved ineffective, the question of occupation has gradually faded into the background.

Read also: Russia’s new mobilization law yet another sign Kremlin is preparing for war with NATO, analysts say

If we were to travel 500 years into the future, what would the monuments decorating public parks and town squares commemorate? Thomas Doyle takes us on an unnerving journey to imagine the culture we might encounter should our endless fascination with technology continue.

The New York-based artist (previously) toys with perception as he sculpts miniature works at 1:43 scale and smaller. His new dystopian series, Clear History, invokes classical Greek and Roman sculpture, although the venerated figures appear more as a warning than an ideal. Sharp rays pierce through a woman’s head in “Clickthrough rate,” for example, while the hunched protagonist of “Opt in” demonstrates the neck-cranking posture many of us know all too well.

“Infinite scroll” (2024), mixed media, 22 x 13.8 x 13.8 centimeters

Interested in the long tail of culture, Doyle frequently looks to the past to better understand the consequences of our present. “I’m fascinated by the way we are hurtling toward what seems to be a new way of being human, leaping without looking, hoping for the best,” he says.

In each of the mixed-media scenes, tiny figures peer up at or sit near the weathered statues as they consider a world that’s come and gone. “The trappings of past cultures are all around us, morphed and made nearly unrecognizable over centuries,” the artist adds. “I’ve tried to trace the ways in which today’s technologies will reverberate over time. What will grow from the seeds we plant today? What becomes a venerated symbol? What serves as a cautionary myth?”

Doyle currently has a few models on view at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, and he very generously shares glimpses behind the scenes on Instagram.

“Acceptance criteria” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 15 x 15 centimeters

“Opt in” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 20 x 20 centimeters

“Switch profile” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 12.5 x 12.5 centimeters

“Show hidden” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 30 x 30 centimeters

“Session timeout” (2024), mixed media, 25 x 14.5 x 14.5 centimeters

“Bad gateway” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters

“Use case” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 14 x 14 centimeters

“Temporary redirect” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 26 x 26 centimeters

“We value your privacy” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters

“Rollback” (2024), mixed media / 20 x 16 x 16 centimeters

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover appeared first on Colossal.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) is demanding a formal investigation into the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) seemingly false statements about wait times for calls to the agency’s hotline. Warren’s office analyzed 50 calls in June and found that some people waited more than three hours to speak to a representative — if they get to speak with a human at all. More than half of…

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Facing backlash for undermining two anti-corruption agencies last week, Kyiv may now have to appoint a candidate to lead the country's economic crimes bureau, after blocking the reformer for weeks.

Earlier this month, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers rejected an independent commission's nominee to lead the Bureau of Economic Security over alleged ties to Russia in a move observers called unlawful and politically motivated.

But now, after domestic and international outcry over a law passed last week granting the Prosecutor General sweeping control over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor (SAPO), Kyiv is facing mounting pressure to honor its anti-corruption commitments.

The European Commission on July 29 called on Ukraine to appoint the nominated director "swiftly," saying doing so was "essential to advance (the bureau's) reform and ensure its independent and effective functioning," an EC spokesperson told the Kyiv Independent.

The spokesperson added that the appointment is part of Ukraine's broader reform commitment under the EU accession process. Ukraine is also required to select a new head of the bureau by the end of this month as part of its $15 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund.

"The IMF has been very understanding when it comes to Ukraine — but the kind of confidence-sapping moves like those of last week leave a trace that even backtracking on NABU and SAPO won't entirely erase," Roman Washchuk, Ukraine’s business ombudsman, told the Kyiv Independent."Things that would have been glossed over may now be taken into account."

Three international members of the bureau's selection committee appointed anti-corruption official Oleksandr Tsyvinsky on June 30 to fill the vacant position before the July 31 deadline set by the EU and IMF. The government overruled that decision, citing Tsyvinsky’s father’s Russian citizenship as a security concern.

Tsyvinsky — who is known for exposing schemes involving illegal land seizures in Kyiv, holds clearance for state secrets, and has passed special vetting —  has over 20 years in law enforcement, including nearly a decade at NABU.

Despite calls among Ukrainian lawmakers and members of civil society to appoint Tsyvinsky, which the government was required to do within 10 days of his nomination according to the laws governing the bureau, the Cabinet of Ministers doubled down on its decision, with Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko publicly defending the government's right to reject a candidate for security reasons.

"Before these events related to NABU and SAPO, there were some doubts that maybe (Tsyvinsky) was just an isolated case. But after, it became very clear that (the government) just doesn't want him because he is an independent person," Olena Trehub, the head of the NGO the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), told the Kyiv Independent.

"They used exactly the same pretext to attack NABU and SAPO — saying they are afraid of Russian infiltration."

According to opposition lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, it was President Volodymyr Zelensky who blocked Tsyvinsky’s appointment, due to concerns that his circle could be prosecuted. Observers widely attributed the government’s attempt to weaken NABU to its investigations involving members of Zelensky’s inner circle.

The bureau, established in 2021 to investigate white collar crimes, has faced allegations ranging from inefficiency to pressuring and extorting businesses. To promote good governance, its bylaws require a six-member selection committee — three appointed by the government and three international experts, with the latter holding final decision-making authority.

International committee member James Wasserstrom told the Kyiv Independent he stands by his decision to nominate Tsyvinsky and believes he has a high chance of being appointed.

It's unclear what decision the government will take. The prime minister has not walked back her earlier defense of rejecting Tsyvinsky’s nomination. Trehub says she is concerned that could signal the government is committed to pushing for another selection competition.

But international partners may not be so keen to fund another competition if the result will just get overturned, Washchuk said. The previous selection commission was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has since been heavily curtailed under U.S. President Donald Trump.

"You would have to be a pretty masochistic international to want to go through this again, knowing that at the end, for some random reason which cannot be revealed to you, the outcome will be overturned," Washchuk said.

But Zhelezniak is now confident the government has "no other option" but to appoint Tsyvinsky.

"They have to do it."

Read also: Zelensky’s big Ukraine blunder, explained