Kharkiv crypto entrepreneur Mykola Udyansky could buy the Trukha Telegram channel network. According to data of Forbes Ukraine’s interlocutors involved in the media, defense business, and anti-corruption sector, the deal could have taken place about two months ago. At the same time, Udyansky and project manager Maksym Lavrynenko deny the change of owner.
Udyansky told Forbes Ukraine that Lavrynenko, with whom he has a long-standing friendship, remains the owner of Trukha. Lavrynenko also denied the sale of the channel and called such reports rumors that are “started by competitors.”
According to the assessment of the Head of Telegram Department of the Netpeak agency Maksym Tsap, the cost of the Trukha project could reach $15–25 million. Two other interlocutors from the business environment gave Forbes Ukraine similar estimates — $20 million and $15–25 million. At the same time, an interlocutor from the anti-corruption sector claims that the amount of a possible deal could have been much lower — about $2.5 million.
It is difficult to evaluate Trukha using multipliers familiar to the media business. According to YouControl, the revenue of Trukha Ukraine LLC in 2025 amounted to UAH 9.2 million. Instead, Tsap suggests that the annual turnover of a network of this scale could exceed UAH 100 million.
“Trukha” is one of the largest Telegram channel networks in Ukraine. The main channel “Trukha Ukraine” has over 3 million subscribers. According to Netpeak, the network of the same name consists of 37 channels with a total audience of 9 million users, and the number of connected channels exceeds 100. In 2023, NGL Media estimated the total audience of the “Trukha” orbit at 12 million. At that time, it included 63 channels.
The “Trukha” Telegram channel appeared in 2019 as the local Kharkiv channel “Tru Kharkiv”. After the start of the full-scale invasion, it began to cover events throughout Ukraine and quickly outgrew the regional format.
Since 2022, Maksym Lavrynenko has called himself the owner and founder of the project. According to YouControl, he is the sole owner and director of Trukha Ukraine LLC, established in December 2023.
Previously, NGL Media and Grunt wrote that Kharkiv businessman Volodymyr Lytvyn could be an investor in Trukha. Among the indirect signs, investigators mentioned the registration of the “Trukha” trademarks in the name of his mother and payments through the CEO of his company.
Mykola Udyansky is a Kharkiv crypto entrepreneur, honorary consul of Romania in Kharkiv, doctor of philosophy in law. He is one of the co-owners of Parlament Media Group, and was also a co-founder and co-owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinsbit and owned the LocalTrade platform.
In 2021, Forbes Ukraine included him in the list of “100 richest Ukrainians” with an estimated fortune of $180 million, but this estimate was later revised due to the fall of the crypto market, the collapse of FTX and the war. Udyansky was associated with the crypto exchanges Coinsbit and Qmall. According to Coinranking, Coinsbit is currently inactive. According to CoinGecko, Qmall currently has zero trading volume.
In 2024, law enforcement officers opened proceedings regarding possible fraud through Qmall, but in July 2025 it was closed due to the lack of elements of a criminal offense. After that, the court canceled the seizure of property and crypto assets.
Since 2023, Udyansky has been the honorary consul of Romania in Kharkiv. He is also a co-founder of Parlament Media Group, but claims that he does not participate in operational management.
Recently, the PlayCity State Agency fined the Telegram channel “Trukha Ukraine” 4.8 million UAH for violating legislation in the field of gambling advertising.
