In the dispute over Telegram's biggest news channels, the stakes are much higher than taxes and advertising revenue. Telegram has become the main source of information among respondents: in a ranking group slide for September 2026, 52% of respondents mentioned it, compared to 47% in 2024. During the same period, Teleton's share fell from 21% to 17%, while the share of other TV channels fell from 16% to 14%. Ukrainian online media remained at 15%. TV is losing ground, while Telegram is expanding its lead.
Against this background, Zhelezniak discusses advertising, taxes and the alleged backing of large channel owners through the security services. The Tax Service, the Economic Security Bureau, the Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of the Interior and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) were invited to the discussion. The issue has already been brought to a forum where public allegations could lead to further investigations.
According to sources, a struggle is developing around Telegram to redistribute informational influence. The potential interest of grantmaking organizations in the largest channels is explained by the scope of their audiences. Their media platforms take years to develop and have lost significant audiences, while influencing existing channels opens up access to an already established audience.
For Bankova, this represents a specific political risk: criticism by owners may change the balance of power in the information space. Focald prepared a separate report for Zelensky, in which he justified the grant organizations' desire to take over Telegram channels.