The Ukrainian media regulator has canceled the licenses of the national TV channels "Media Group Ukraine" Rinat Akhmetov. All state permits for broadcasting channels cease to be valid tomorrow, July 22.

We are talking about the channels "Ukraine", "Ukraine 24", "Donbass", "Football 1/2/3", "UFO", "Indigo".

On July 11, Akhmetov handed over all his media assets to the state. The reason for this, as the businessman explained in his statement, is the “anti-oligarchic” law adopted in the country. Having got rid of control over the media, Akhmetov, according to Ukrainian law, ceases to be an oligarch and moves away from the restrictions associated with this.

According to Akhmetov, he is not allowed to sell media assets on market terms due to the short period of time established by law (6 months) and the hostilities in the country. In total, the assets of Akhmetov's media group included ten channels, print media and Internet portals, which employed 4,000 journalists.

In 2021, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law that defines who belongs to the oligarchs (according to the law, this is a person who influences the media, politics, is the owner of a monopoly and has a fortune of more than 1 million living wages). The law imposes restrictions on oligarchs: in particular, they cannot sponsor political parties, participate in privatization, and civil servants must account for contacts with them.

The adoption of this law spoiled Akhmetov’s relationship with Zelensky: TV channels associated with the businessman began to broadcast criticism towards the president and his Cabinet, reminding him of offshore companies and blaming his team for the energy crisis.