One of the most influential Kremlin agents in Ukraine is Viktor Medvedchuk, who is heading the pro-Russian political party "Opposition platform For Life". Viktor Medvedchuk has family ties to Vladimir Putin and is executing the will of Russian president in Ukraine.

Viktor Medvedchuk controls at least 3 national Ukrainian TV channels, which he uses to spread disinformation and anti-West playbook across the country, particularly targeting the population of Eastern-Southern Ukraine. The TV channels like "112 Channel", "News One", "Zik" are promoting pro-Russian propaganda, blackmailing independent anticorruption institutions, attacking constantly civil society activists and reformers in government, blaming IMF and the West for alleged attempts to govern Ukraine. These messages are broadly reinforced by 1+1 TV channel, beneficially owned by oligarch Igor Kolomoyskyi. Through his wife Oksana Marchenko Mr. Medvedchuk controls at least 6% shares in 1+1 TV Channel. Viktor Medvedchuk is also using the troll factories in social media to boost his anti-Western rhetoric.

Viktor Medvedchuk generates significant profits from his oil business with Russia, from which he funds these TV channels, as well as his pro-Russian political party "Opposition Platform For Live" and NGO " Ukrainian Choice".

While Viktor Medvedchuk pushes for the anti-EU and anti-West narratives in Ukraine he uses more than 50 companies in EU member states and 2 UK companies. He abuses Western shell companies to extract Russian oil and sell it to the West bypassing the US sanctions. Specifically, Viktor Medvedchuk through his wife Oksana Marchenko controls 44 companies in Cyprus, 5 companies in Bulgaria, 1 company in Malta. Viktor Medvedchuk destructive anti-Western influence in Ukraine would be impossible without funding from Russian oil business, which would have been impossible without relying on the EU and the UK registered companies.

On March 6, 2014 the US imposed sanctions on Viktor Medvedchuk.

In March 2016, Viktor Medvechuk transferred all ownership rights of his business entities to his wife Oksana Marchenko. Among such entities there is a chain of companies registered in Cyprus, Malta, United Kingdom, Russia, and Ukraine. On September 18, 2018 Viktor Medvedchuk in his comment to Radio Free Europe told: "My wife is not doing business, she is owning business, while I am managing it. Why I can not own business? Because my "beloved" americans imposed sanctions on me in March 2014. This caused peculiarities to business, which now belongs to my family". This comment followed the journalistic investigation "Oil for Putin's Crony" released by Schemes investigative reporting project on September 6, 2018.

Oksana Marchenko had a long career as a TV show presenter. Specifically, in 2009-2014 she was presenter of "Ukraine has a talent" TV show at STB channel, in 2010-2016 she worked as presenter of "X-factor" TV project, since December 2017 she became host and team leader of reality show "Time to build" at Inter TV channel. Thus, Oksana Marchenko does not have professional skills to run and/or control complex business chains, including those engaged in extraction of oil in Russia.

On July 20, 2017 Oksana Marchenko has become a sole shareholder of Cyprus company Tumillon Investments LTD, which through another Cyprus company Ventolor Holding LTD controls 50,1% of shares in Russian legal entity NZNP Trade LLC since August 16, 2016 .

On June 03, 2015 NZNP Trade LLC became a winner at the state competition for the right to extract oil at Gavrykivske oil field at Khanty-Mansiysk district in Russia. Gavrykivske field is one of largest oil fields in the district having reserves of about 40 mln tons of oil. NZNP Trade LLC paid 6,692,000,000 Rubles for the extraction right, which was just 2 millions higher than the expected price of the auction.

The competition procedure contained a strange discriminatory clause, requiring the potential winner to process the extracted oil from Gavrykivske field at the Russian oil processing factories located in Rostov district. Rostov district is located on the South- West of Russia, which is about 2,500 kilometres away from Gavrykivskse field, located at North-East of Russian Siberia. The only company in Russia which was eligible to win the competition became NZNP Trade LLC, which owned Novoshakhtinsk Oil Processing Factory, the only oil processing factory in Rostov district.

Novoshakhtinsk Oil processing Factory is located in Novoshakhtinsk, 18 kilometres away from Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia (so-called Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic - DNR/LNR). Experts in Russia and Ukraine suggest that oil products from Novoshakhtinsk factory might be illegally sold to the occupied territories.

RN-Uvatneftegaz, a subsidiary of Rosneft, Russian state-owned company giant managed by Igor Sechin, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, first contested the competition because of the discriminatory requirements, however, strangely, later withdrew its claim.

NZNP Trade LLC started active exploration and extraction works at Gavrykivske field in late 2017, right after the ownership structure of the company changed, and Oksana Marchenko became shareholder of Cyprus company Tumillon Investments LTD.

Oksana Marchenko through the chain of companies also became a controller of TD NZNP LLC, a sister company of NZNP Trade LLC operating in Rostov district. TD NZNP LLC is licensed for trading oil products. It is a 100% subsidiary of another Russian company Yug Energo LLC. Since December 25, 2017, 60% shares of Yug Energo LLC belong to Cyprus company Ventolor Investments LTD, which is wholly owned by Cyprus Ventolor Holding LTD mentioned above in section 4.

In August 2019, Viktor Medvedchuk became the Member of Parliament of Ukraine representing the pro-Russia party "Opposition Platform for Life". In compliance with Ukrainian legislation on assets disclosure, in May 2020 Medvedchuk submitted electronic asset declaration for 2019, where among other assets were indicated millions in cash and in bank accounts, almost 20 land plots, collections of paintings and icons, dozens of antique books. The declaration also revealed that Oksana Marchenko is the beneficial owner of almost one hundred companies registered in different parts of the world, namely in Ukraine, Russia, Cyprus and Bulgaria as well as in offshore jurisdictions like Malta, the Marshall Islands and St. Kitts and Nevis.

According to Viktor Medvedchuk's asset declaration, Oksana Marchenko is the ultimate beneficial owner of Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery JSC. The journalists report that during 2020 the oil products (like aromatic petroleum oil) produced by Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery JSC were supplied to ExxonMobil Sales&Supply LLC, which is a subsidiary of the American corporation ExxonMobil. The goods were delivered directly from the Black Sea neutral waters to the port of Houston.

According to the available customs data, in the period of January-April 2020 alone, six tankers (Kalahari, Artemis, NS Captain, Patmos Warrior, Clio, and Nordorchid) delivered to Houston at least 443,000 tons of oil products of Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery JSC. The oil products were loaded in the Black Sea neutral waters from three tankers (Sanar-7, Sanar-8, and Boray), the tankers are owned by the Russian company Rosewood Shipping LLC, which is beneficially owned by Oksana Marchenko.

ExxonMobil Sales&Supply LLC purchased the oil products from Swiss company Newcoal Trading AG. Beneficial owners of the latter are not publicly disclosed. However, according to journalists it is widely believed that Swiss company is linked to the family of Gleb Khor, a member of the Russian State Duma for the "United Russia" party through company Rutek holding.

Journalists estimate that oil products produced by Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery JSC constitute one third of all oil exported by Russian companies to the U.S. from November 2019 to June 2020. Estimated income received by Viktor Medvedchuk for these operations is $150 mln.

Viktor Medvedchuk declared receiving significant income in 2019 from companies, where Oksana Marchenko is indicated as a beneficial owner, specifically:

Viktor Medvedchuk owns significant assets outside Ukraine through his network of offshore companies. Those assets have not been disclosed in his official asset declaration. Among others they include yacht Royal Romance with estimated value of 200 million EUR (owned through Fregata Marine Ltd registered at Marshall Islands), real estate in Bulgaria with estimated value of 20 million EUR, 6-thousand-square-meter estate in the occupied Crimea.

NGO " Ukrainian Choice" as well as the political party political party Opposition Platform "Za Zhyttia" are advocating for federalization of Ukraine, opposing the course of Ukraine towards integration with the European Union and NATO, blackmail pro- Western and pro-reform Ukrainian politicians and civil society activists, advocate for Ukraine getting under full geopolitical control and influence of Russia, targeting to harm Ukrainian cooperation with the IMF and the World Bank.

There is a high likelihood that income Viktor Medvedchuk generates from selling Russian oil to the American market through the chain of Western shell companies nominally owned by his wife is directly contributing to the destructive anti-EU and anti-Western activities of NGO "Ukrainski Vybir" and political party "Opposition Platform "Za Zhyttia".

InfoWatch project of UkraineWorld independent media conducts regular analysis of anti-West narratives in Ukraine. Among the most actively spread anti-West messages are the following:

• "GEORGE SOROS HAS NUMEROUS SERVANTS IN UKRAINE, THE SO-CALLED "SOROSIATA"
  
  
• "UKRAINE IS UNDER EXTERNAL GOVERNANCE"
  
  
• "UKRAINIAN LAND WILL BE SOLD OFF"
  
  
• "THE IMF HAS ENSLAVED UKRAINE"
  
  
• "THE U.S. CURATES UKRAINIAN MEDIA, ACTIVISTS AND POLITICIANS"
  

All of these anti-West messages are spread broadly by Viktor Medvedchuk controlled media assets, specifically NewsOne, ZikTV, 112 Channel and 1+1 Channel.

Ironically, Viktor Medvedchuk and his proxy Taras Kozak receive significant income from Western companies, specifically Cyprus based.

NewsOne TV channel is broadcasted by "Novyny "24 Hodyny" (24 Hours News) LLC, which is owned by the Cyprus-based company Turul Investments Limited. According to Cyprus corporate registry the sole beneficial owner of this company is Taras Kozak - an MP from political party "Opposition Platform "Za Zhyttia '' and close ally of Viktor Medvedchuk.

Taras Kozak`s brother Bohdan jointly with Viktor Medvedchuk brother Serhiy own a number of companies in Ukraine, specifically: Eksponent LLC, Kerambud LLC, and Ukrinvestlimited LLC. Additionally, Taras Kozak is a deputy head of NGO "Tsentr Pravova Derzhava", headed by Viktor Medvedchuk. There are strong reasons to believe that Taras Kozak is Viktor Medvedhuk's proxy and trusted person.

Zik TV channel is broadcasted by Teleradiocompaniya "Novi Telecomynicatsii" LLC, which is owned by Pro Radio LLC. The latter is also owned by Cyprus Turul Investment limited.

Taras Kozak declared receiving in 2019 income of 237 445 075 UAH (approx $8, 3 mln) dividends from Cyprus Turul Investment Limited. Taras Kozak is one of the key sponsors of political party "Opposition Platform Za Zhyttia".

Сhannel 112 Ukraine is broadcasted by Teleradiocompaniya 112-TV LLC. This company is owned by "Ariadna TV" LLC , which is directly owned by Taras Kozak from December 2018.

Shares in 1+1 TV Channel

In May 2020 Viktor Medvedchuk submitted his annual asset declaration where he mentioned that Oksana Marchenko is a beneficial owner of Bolvik Ventures LTD registered in BVI. Bolvik Ventures LTD controls 33% of Cyprus-based Caddoa Limited. The latter owns 22,5% in Ukrainian TRK "Studiya 1+1" which broadcasts 1+1 Channel. The beneficial owner of TRK "Studiya 1+1" is Igor Kolomoyskyi.

According to information in the media, Bolvik Ventures LTD is owned by Oksana Marchenko, Leonid Ashkenazi who is a Vice-President of FC Dynamo and Igor Surkis.

However, 1+1 Channel submitted information that Bolvik Ventures LTD is fully controlled by Igor Surkis. These changes can be done in order to remove the evidence of connections between Surkis and Kolomoyskyi and receive 350 mln USD from Privat Bank by Surkis family.

Companies, declared by Viktor Medvedchuk is his asset declaration as "beneficially owned" by Oksana Marchenko.