Accounts of unknown TV channel "PoLtava" appear on Facebook and TikTok

Accounts of "PoLtava TV" appeared on Facebook and TikTok on August 14. The logo of the new media outlet is similar to the logo of what used to be the broadcasting company "Ltava" (which is now the regional public broadcaster "Suspilne Poltava". – Ed.). The TV channel's social media pages have posted their first news story about the city authorities congratulating the Olympic champion Oleksandr Khyzhniak.

At the time of the publication "PoLtava" has no official website. There is no information about the channel's owners and editors.

Logo from the "PoLtava TV" page on Facebook and the logo of the now closed Poltava oblast broadcasting company. Collage by the IMI

One of the likes under the logo posted on Facebook is from Anna Vorobyova. She has repeatedly shared posts from Valeriy Parkhomenko, the first deputy mayor of the Poltava community (his party "Za Maibutnye" also includes the former Poltava mayor Oleksandr Mamay, who was dismissed on charges of abuse of office). Anna Vorobyova has been photographed standing next to Parkhomenko.

The page was also liked by Serhiy Persky, the former consultant for the organizational support department of the Oblast Council's apparatus, as evidenced by his 2021 declaration.

The Poltava representative of the IMI wrote to the TV channel's office for a comment to learn about their plans for working in the city's media space, but has received no immediate reply.