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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Why is oligarch and subject of corruption investigations Kropachov launching a TV channel with Medvedchuk’s propagandists?
As has become known, 22 January a new TV channel, Ukraine World News, is launching in Ukraine, to be run by people from Medvedchuk’s orbit. The channel’s owner is named as Vitaliy Kropachov, owner of gas, coal, and engineering businesses.
In this context, and against the backdrop of removing «Pryamyi», «Espreso» and the «5 channel» from digital broadcast access, several unpleasant questions arise that no one answers.
The Ukraine World News team officially states it has no relation to Viktor Medvedchuk, but its personnel speak for themselves. Technical director is Dmytro Skidan, who previously held the same position at the «112 Ukraina» channel; the new channel’s general producer will be Olha Hryzheva — former editor-in-chief of NewsOne and chief editor of ZIK.
According to Dmytro Skidan, Ukraine World News will also include “other people” who came from the «112 Ukraina» channel. It is also known that the company VisionHouse, which previously built "112", NewsOne, ZIK and "Nash", is directly participating in preparing the new channel for operation.
Against this backdrop, Skidan’s statement that Ukraine World News will not participate in the «United News» marathon looks strange, although the refusal to broadcast it was the formal reason for removing «Pryamyi», «Espreso» and the «5 channel» from the air.
Even more questions are raised by the figure of Ukraine World News owner Vitaliy Kropachov. He is a businessman from the city of Torez (now Chystiakove, located in the occupied part of Donetsk region). He was involved in the coal business and was close to former MP Ihor Kononenko.
Kropachov is better known not as a media magnate but as a coal businessman who tried to push Rinat Akhmetov out of coal extraction. In 2017 he began cooperating with the Chinese engineering company Sany Heavy Industries, which manufactures equipment for coal extraction. Together they won many tenders of state-owned mines and entered into competition with Rinat Akhmetov’s Corum.
The tenders they won are linked to the biggest scandals and a criminal case called the “Kropachov coal case.” The investigation established that during 2016–2018 years a group of persons organized a scheme that effectively established control over state procurements of three state enterprises: “Selidovvuhillia”, “Myrnohradvuhillia” and “Mine Administration Yuzhnodonbas No. 1”.
In 69 procurements of the mentioned coal-mining enterprises, one company received the supply contract — Donenergoexport LLC. These concerned the most in-demand items: fuel and lubricants, spare parts for mining equipment, metal products, and cable products for mines. In reality this company acted as an intermediary, reselling with a markup goods purchased from participants in the real sector. Those participants, in turn, through obstacles specially created by the scheme’s organizers, had no real chance to cooperate directly with the state enterprises.
According to the investigation, the technical bidders in the tenders won by Donenergoexport LLC were Trialttrade and Universal Invest-Bud. These companies are linked to businessman Kropachov. NABU detectives established that Donenergoexport and Trialttrade used the same IP address when filing tax declarations. Moreover, part of the funds received from state enterprises was transferred by Trialttrade to the account of VB Nerukhomist, a signatory of which is Kropachov’s daughter Yuliia. In addition, the founder of VB Nerukhomist is the businessman’s own firm Ukrdoninvest.
Over nearly three years, these three state enterprises, following the scheme organizers’ instructions, purchased a variety of equipment, spare and consumable materials, and other goods at inflated prices, sometimes even without need, for a total of almost 174,5 million UAH, illegally overpaying more than 51,17 million UAH.
There was also a Russian connection in this case. During a search of Kropachov’s office in January 2018, documents were seized showing that Donenergoexport had only three employees on staff, while Trialttrade had only one person. One court decision notes that during NABU searches items were seized belonging to another Donetsk firm — Donvuhlekon. Its owner, like the above firms’ owners, is a resident of occupied Donetsk.
Against this background, it is interesting that Kropachov in 2014 participated in creating the “Shakhtarsk” battalion together with Radical Party leader Oleh Liashko, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko and at the time Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
With the change of power in the country, the criminal cases against Kropachov gradually dwindled, the charges were dropped, and he himself began to take an interest in the media business. In 2019 he bought the channel “Tak TV” from co-owner of the College of Press and Television Hlib Holovchenko. That same year Kropachov unsuccessfully tried to revive the TVi channel.
With the start of the full-scale war, Kropachov suddenly became interested in pro-Russian channels, which after the failure of the blitzkrieg began to experience serious problems. In 2022 he bought a digital broadcasting license of the 4 channel, as well as the company Era Production. Soon after the license sale, the 4 channel’s property was arrested and then transferred to the State Film Agency, because the channel owner Oleksii Kovalov went over to Russia’s side.
In 6 October 2022 the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting reissued the license of the 4 channel, which Kropachov bought, under the brand “Tak TV.”
On the one hand, this can be explained as straightforward business — Kropachov simply “picks up what lies poorly,” taking advantage of the obvious problems of former channel owners. On the other hand, his staffing policy is surprising — Kropachov fills his media empire with odious figures who openly served Russia’s interests on channels belonging to Medvedchuk and his circle.
So one can already assume what content Ukraine World News will broadcast. Even more surprising are the authorities’ actions, who under such circumstances not only issue a license to Kropachov’s channel but also turn a blind eye to the refusal to broadcast the United telemarathon. Recall once again — it was precisely because of the refusal to broadcast it that «Pryamyi», «Espreso» and the «5 channel» were removed from digital air, and those channels are by no means pro-Russian.
The guilt of these channels lies only in the fact that they belong to a group opposed to the authorities, so the question arises — what did Vitaliy Kropachov agree with Bankova on, that he was allowed to open a channel filled with Medvedchuk’s propagandists?
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Навіщо олігарх та фігурант корупційних розслідувань Кропачов запускає телеканал із пропагандистами Медведчука?". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
