On the first day of the full-scale invasion – February 24, 2022 – Russian troops entered the city of Sumy (northern Ukraine, 30 km from the Russian border). Initially, the occupiers shelled the border settlements with a rocket salvo fire system, then their tanks and armored vehicles entered small towns and villages of the region eventually reaching Sumy. As follows, part of the region was occupied until April 11, 2022 when the Ukrainian military regained control over the area. The city of Sumy was not occupied, but due to its proximity to the border, it has been shelled almost every day and night.

The team of “STS” TV channel from Sumy learned how to work under the conditions of constant shelling and fear. The TV channel was founded in 2015 to inform the residents of the region about life in the border areas. Since February 2022, it has been covering Russia’s attacks and their consequences, local volunteer projects and social initiatives, state support provided to vulnerable groups of people etc. Thanks to cooperation with local activists and volunteer organizations travelling to the border to help civilians, “STS” journalists got the opportunity to shoot reports not only from Sumy, but also from neighbor towns and villages.

By all means, due to systematic shelling, many “STS” employees were forced to move abroad or to safer regions of Ukraine. Three specialists were mobilized to the army. An extreme talent shortage, as well absence of advertising revenue ultimately led to the temporary suspension of “STS” broadcast in spring 2024.

Apparently, the lack of local information has a negative impact on the awareness and state of mind of Sumy residents because these days the region remains under the threat of repeated occupation. Therefore, local communities are in need of up-to-date information in order to be able to make timely decisions for their security. The TV channel plans to resume broadcasting but it is in dire need of financial support – advertising market is hardly recovering due to the challenging security situation in the region.