Peacemaker Honcharenko Became the Absolute Leader in Quotability - Media Prominence Ranking of Verkhovna Rada Deputies

Among all Verkhovna Rada deputies during the week of 5 - 11 October, the most quoted was Oleksii Honcharenko, notoriously known and expelled from Petro Poroshenko’s faction European Solidarity. Those are the findings of a new media prominence ranking of Verkhovna Rada deputies that Informator produces weekly. Against the backdrop of rocket drone strikes on Kyiv, Honcharenko began calling for peace negotiations with Russia. His appeals became even more topical after Trump concluded a fuel deal with Putin and accused President Zelensky of having had six opportunities to achieve peace but not wanting to do so.

"Compromises can be part of the path to ending the war. But Ukraine’s independence, its European future, questions of national identity, and the right to determine its own security system are not subjects for compromise."

This very statement by Honcharenko was the one leading media dissected into quotes most actively. He said it in the context of European Solidarity’s reaction to Honcharenko’s remarks about ending the war — the faction commented that "we cannot continue on a shared path."

But Honcharenko was notable this period not only for that quote. He also commented on his inclusion in the Myrotvorets database, explained the reasons for his expulsion from the European Solidarity faction, and spoke about possible peace plans and prospects for ending the war.

"This is a fake database that has nothing to do with reality; it is an instrument of political intrigue. It is not a state database. You can create such a database and enter those you dislike," - Oleksii Honcharenko, Glavkom

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, who led Informator’s ranking for several consecutive weeks, has now been displaced. By number of mentions, Honcharenko surpassed Stefanchuk by more than double.

Honcharenko also appears in another ranking — potential candidates for president. The trend is the same: politicians who speak in favor of peace negotiations receive the most quotes in the media. This trend became noticeable in early October. Reminder: we measure not public opinion but only the number of mentions of politicians in the country’s leading media.

Who made noise

The week’s top three were Oleksii Honcharenko (217.7 points), Ruslan Stefanchuk (82.7 points), and Davyd Arakhamia (65.4 points).

Oleksii Honcharenko, European Solidarity - 217.7 points

Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - 82.7 points

Davyd Arakhamia, Servant of the People - 65.4 points

Petro Poroshenko, European Solidarity - 58.6 points

Danylo Hetmantsev, Servant of the People - 33.9 points

Serhii Nahorniak, Servant of the People - 30.7 points

Roksolana Pidlasa, Servant of the People - 30.1 points

Yulia Tymoshenko, Batkivshchyna - 25.6 points

Anna Skorokhod, For the Future - 25.4 points

Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, Servant of the People - 21.1 points

Honcharenko’s lead over second place is more than 135 points, and that’s despite Stefanchuk also having a busy week: he announced a meeting on the state budget-2027 and commented on the issue of relocating the Rada.

"My position is always clear and understandable. Parliament, from the first day of the full-scale invasion, has been operating at Hrushevskoho Street. We did not change that neither in 24 February nor afterward. And we will hold sessions there as long as it is physically possible," - Ruslan Stefanchuk, Novyny.LIVE

The silent majority

Of 392 people's deputies, none were mentioned during the week 306 — that is more than three quarters of the Verkhovna Rada. Only 86 deputies received mentions in the media.

Who made noise when

On 8 October, Russia massively attacked Kyiv, causing power outages in parts of the regions; a drone strike on an apartment building in the capital injured four people, including two children. That day was the loudest for deputies: Danylo Hetmantsev commented on the fall in foreign investment, Serhii Nahorniak and Olena Shuliak spoke about prospects for blackouts and the condition of bomb shelters, and Roksolana Pidlasa and Davyd Arakhamia recorded their peak days of mentions.

"According to my data, there is no basis to claim that this winter there could be such prolonged outages. Neither in Kyiv nor in other regions of Ukraine," - Serhii Nahorniak, Obozrevatel

Who was given the floor

Not everyone who made the top was actively quoted. Honcharenko has 5 direct quotes, Stefanchuk has 3, Poroshenko has 2. But Davyd Arakhamia, with 65.4 points and 61 publications, did not have a single direct quote — he was mentioned but not quoted. The same lack of direct quotes marked the week for Roksolana Pidlasa, Yulia Tymoshenko, Anna Skorokhod, and Yaroslav Zhelezniak.

At the faction level, European Solidarity (310.5 points across 9 deputies) barely outpaced Servant of the People (292.9 points, but across as many as 39 deputies) — meaning ES’s prominence is held by a few figures, whereas in the mono-majority it is spread across the whole faction.

"Regarding sanctions policy, my message to our American partners is the same as in previous years. Please, do not believe Putin. Putin perceives this not as a goodwill gesture you give him, but as weakness," - Petro Poroshenko, Obozrevatel

One-day stars

All four of Vadym Stolar’s publications for the week were released on a single day — 8 October. Almost the same happened with Anna Skorokhod: nearly everything written about her during the week appeared on 7 October. A similar picture for Oleh Dunda and Yurii Boiko — both "fired" mainly on one day, 6 and 8 October respectively. For Roman Kostenko and Artem Dmytruk, most mentions also fell on one peak day — 7 and 8 October.

What they said

"Russia needs Ukraine’s defeat. We must understand this when we are told: 'Let’s negotiate about something.' Russia does not intend to stop. I have said repeatedly: to force Russia to negotiate, conditions must be created. Unfortunately, those conditions are not created now," - Roman Kostenko, NV

"It’s hard to say why, in the fifth year of the full-scale invasion, we still do not have, from various sides, such an awareness that the enemy has not gone anywhere. To build this shelter system, every branch of power needs to take it very seriously," - Olena Shuliak, Novyny.LIVE

"Yesterday I specifically returned for a meeting with Merz. The chancellor conveyed one billion euros as an increase in German aid. The Germans today occupy a leading position; up to 35% of all European Union assistance is provided by the Germans," - Petro Poroshenko, Obozrevatel

How we calculated it

The ranking is built on monitoring 30 leading Ukrainian outlets, in which from 5 to 11 October 2026 we checked 17977 articles. Points are awarded for a deputy’s mention in the headline, lead, and text of a publication, with a direct quote weighing more than a simple mention of the surname. The weight of each outlet is also accounted for unevenly — a publication in a wider-reaching outlet gives more points. Overall, 86 deputies out of 392 received mentions during the week.

How we calculate the rankings — which outlets we take, what we count as a mention, and how we filter out namesakes — is explained in a separate clarification.