Crypto entrepreneur Mykola Udyansky may have become the new owner of the largest Ukrainian network of Telegram channels, Trukha. The participants in the alleged deal themselves deny the sale.
Crypto entrepreneur Mykola Udyansky may have become the new owner of the largest Ukrainian network of Telegram channels, Trukha. The participants in the alleged deal themselves deny the sale.
Forbes Ukraine reports this, relying on its own sources.
Created in 2019 as a local public «Tru Kharkiv», the Telegram channel «Trukha» was scaled to all of Ukraine after the start of a full-scale invasion. Since 2022, Maksym Lavrynenko has positioned himself as the founder of the project (since 2023, publications have been published under his name), and according to YouControl, since December 2023 he has been the sole owner of LLC «Trukha Ukraine».
In parallel, the brand has grown into a large-scale network. According to an investigation by NGL.media and Grunt, as of September 2023, it united 28 regional channels and a number of thematic publics («Trukha Georgia», «Trukha Sport», «Monaco Battalion», etc.) with a total audience of about 12 million people and 63 channels in total.
Investigators call Kharkiv businessman Volodymyr Lytvyn the main investor of the network. Among the indirect evidence is the registration of the Trukha trademarks in the name of his mother and the payment through the CEO of his company.
The official revenue of Trukha Ukraine LLC in 2025 amounted to only UAH 9.2 million. At the same time, the real annual turnover of the network, according to estimates by Maxim Tsap (Netpeak), may exceed UAH 100 million. Forbes Ukraine sources from business circles estimate the market value of the Trukha project at $15–25 million.
Businessman Mykola Udyanskyi has become the new owner of the Trukha media project, Forbes Ukraine was informed by two entrepreneurs from the media and defense business. According to one of the sources, the deal was closed about two months ago. In addition, on Monday, June 15, volunteer and advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko announced the purchase of the channel by Udyanskyi, although he did not disclose his sources.
At the same time, the parties involved in the alleged deal deny the information about the sale. Mykola Udyansky claims that the owner remains Maksym Lavrynenko, with whom he has a long-standing friendship. When asked about the former investor Volodymyr Lytvyn, he replied that the project had different investors at different stages. Maksym Lavrynenko called the information about the change of owner a fake, launched by competitors, and assured that he fully controls all processes.
Despite the denials, a source in the anti-corruption sector confirms that the sale did take place. According to him, Udyansky may act not as the ultimate beneficiary, but as a representative of the interests of third parties.
The aforementioned interlocutor from the anti-corruption sector says that, according to his information, the amount of the deal could have been $2.5 million.
Mykola Udyanskyi became famous thanks to crypto projects: his first coin E-DinarCoin (2016) quickly depreciated, and he allegedly sold the Coinsbit exchange launched in 2018 for $60 million (it is now inactive). In 2021, Forbes estimated Udyanskyi’s fortune at $180 million, but later the crypto price list was revised significantly lower due to the crisis in the industry and the war.
In 2021, Udyanskyi, together with Bohdan Prilepa, launched the Qmall exchange. Despite aggressive advertising and initial high turnover, users quickly encountered blocking of withdrawals. In 2024, a fraud case was opened against Qmall due to the disappearance of $390,000 for drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but in July 2025, the proceedings were closed and the seizure of assets was lifted. Currently, trading on Qmall is at zero, and Udyanskyi himself blames Prilepa’s former partner, who is under investigation in the UAE, for the problems.
Since 2023, Udyansky has been the Honorary Consul of Romania in Kharkiv and a co-founder of Parlament Media Group. According to the businessman, he currently earns from foreign real estate (Phuket, UAE, Courchevel), renting his own yachts in Dubai and Miami, and also has shares in several Ukrainian companies in the terminal and media sectors.
