Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko is a Ukrainian politician and civil servant, as well as a former journalist. He is a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council of the VIII convocation and is known for his involvement in corruption scandals related to orchestrated media attacks.
Biography
Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko was born on November 24, 1975, in the village of Krasnovolia, Lutsk District, Volyn Region. In 1998, he graduated from the Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Career Path
Volodymyr Horkovenko began his journalism career in 1994 at TRK “Avers” in Lutsk as a reporter.
From 1995, he worked on the television program “Vikna” (Internews MMC) and later on TV channels “Inter” and “ICTV.”
In 2014, he briefly worked at the “Ukraine” TV channel.
From 2014 to 2019, Volodymyr Horkovenko served as the head of the media relations department in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine under President Petro Poroshenko.
On May 4, 2019, Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko was appointed a member of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting. However, a few weeks later, the newly elected President Volodymyr Zelenskyy annulled the decision. On December 19 of that year, the Supreme Court declared this decision unlawful.
In October 2020, Volodymyr Horkovenko became a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council representing Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party (Electoral District No. 3 in Boryspil District).
Scandals
Allegations of Creating Media Templates and Commissioned Attacks
In 2019, Kyiv Post published documents indicating that Petro Poroshenko’s team financed Ukrainian media in 2015–2016 to publish favorable materials about the president and launched media attacks on his opponents. These documents, found in Volodymyr Horkovenko’s office while he headed the information policy department in the Presidential Administration, included budgets for Ukrainian media outlets paid to publish commissioned articles. It was revealed that during the 2015 local elections, over $1 million was paid to seven radio stations for such services.
Unfounded Accusations Against Channel 24
In October 2023, journalists from Channel 24 filed a complaint with the NABU, accusing Volodymyr Horkovenko of disseminating baseless information about corruption on their channel via a blog on Censor.net. It was reported that Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko conducted a media campaign aimed at discrediting the mayor of Lviv, Andriy Sadovyi. In his blog, he published a series of materials accusing the mayor of various violations.
PR for the Head of “Ukrenergo”
In June 2024, Volodymyr Horkovenko appeared in the media as an expert on energy and banking issues, despite lacking formal education in these fields. He openly criticized Alliance Bank for refusing to pay for a dubious agreement between “Ukrenergo” and a company linked to oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, which resulted in losses of 1.4 billion UAH for NEC Ukrenergo. After Kudrytskyi’s dismissal from “Ukrenergo,” Horkovenko continued media attacks on the bank, with his comments widely disseminated in various outlets.
Journalists later discovered that Horkovenko effectively served as an unofficial PR agent for Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. Investigators established a connection between the two, citing Horkovenko’s declaration that his wife, Tetyana, purchased a plot of land in Kyiv in late 2019 on General Pavlenko Street, adjacent to a house owned by Kudrytskyi’s wife, Tetyana Yastremska.
After the court confirmed fraudulent actions by “Ukrenergo” under Kudrytskyi’s leadership, Horkovenko filed a petition urging sanctions against the bank.
Allegations of Illegal Activities by His Son
According to the Informator website, Horkovenko’s son Nazar, a student at London’s Bayes Business School, may be involved in drug-related activities. Nazar founded a company in London, KYIV420 LTD, which sold clothing featuring symbols associated with drugs. After the company was closed, a website with the same name, KYIV420, remained active in Ukraine, offering drug-related products.
Family
Volodymyr Valentynovych Horkovenko is married to Tetyana Horkovenko, with whom he has a daughter, Diana, and a son, Nazar.