Russia Says It's Now Broadcasting Throughout Ukraine's Kherson Region

Russian soldiers stand next to their trucks during a rally against Russian occupation in Kherson on March 7.

Russia says it has reconfigured communications infrastructure in Ukraine's Kherson region and is now broadcasting Russian television channels to the region as Moscow continues to impose control on the southern area near Crimea.

"Specialists of the communication units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation connected and reconfigured the last of the seven television towers in the Kherson region to broadcast Russian television channels," Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement on VKontakte.

"Connecting the seventh tower has extended the broadcasting network across the entire region and made it possible to transmit 24 Russian television channels across its entire territory," the ministry added.

Russia gained control of Kherson, located just north of annexed Crimea, shortly after it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February and later installed a Moscow-friendly administration.

Since April it has been broadcasting to some parts of Kherson region.

The war prompted thousands of local residents to flee Kherson for Ukrainian-controlled territory and Russia has since placed Federal Security Service officers brought in to help maintain control of the region in apartments belonging to those who left, according to Serhiy Khlan, deputy chief of the Kherson regional council in exile.