The Ukrainian foreign broadcasting television channel UATV has closed its Arabic, Crimean Tatar, and English language departments.

"The Ukrainian government has decided to shut down international broadcasting, and to close the Arabic, Crimean Tatar, and English language departments. Over the past three years, the English news service team here at UATV had a common aim of delivering real and truthful news about Ukraine," UATV English said on Facebook.

According to earlier reports, UATV is set to launch a television channel for "the temporarily occupied territories" on February 15, 2020.

Ukraine's Culture, Youth, and Sports Minister Volodymyr Borodiansky said that the television channel will broadcast in Ukrainian and Russian.