Diana Vitalievna Panchenko is a pro-Russian propagandist, journalist, and television host.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on May 21, 1988, in Mykolaiv.
She received her higher education at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, where she majored in “Publishing and Editing.” She later also graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv with a degree in “Law.”
Career
In 2010, Panchenko worked as a reporter for *Gazeta po-ukrainsky*. That same year, she moved to television and became a host on the “Kyiv” TV channel.
Starting in 2015, she worked for the “NewsOne” television channel, which at the time was owned by Yevgeny Murayev and later came under the control of former People’s Deputy Viktor Medvedchuk.
After sanctions were imposed in 2021 against the television channels “NewsOne,” “ZIK,” and “112 Ukraine,” she became a host on the channel “First Independent,” which was also linked to Medvedchuk.
Scandals and His Later Career
Throughout her career, Panchenko has repeatedly found herself at the center of scandals due to her public statements and her personal views. She criticized the Revolution of Dignity, referred to Russians as a “brotherly people,” and more. In 2020, she claimed that she would like to ask Russian dictator Vladimir Putin why his country allegedly did nothing to prevent the Maidan.
She also interviewed the fugitive Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, during which he spoke about the so-called “punitive forces” in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In addition, she opposed Ukraine’s integration into NATO and spread false claims that U.S. President Joe Biden had allegedly ordered Ukraine to launch an offensive in Donbas.
She fled Ukraine at the start of the full-scale invasion. Afterward, she claimed that Kyiv had allegedly provoked Russia—a “terrorist state”—into war, and blamed the Ukrainian government for the consequences. In particular, she compared President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s selection as Time magazine’s Person of the Year to figures such as Hitler and Stalin, and she also spread false claims about the embezzlement of Western aid.
At the end of the year, Panchenko stated that she was in the temporarily occupied territory of Donbas. She later released a film shot in Donetsk and Mariupol.
In 2024, the propagandist’s YouTube channel was blocked at the request of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). She then left for the Russian Federation (RF), where she continued to create content for her channel in the interests of the Kremlin.
In 2025, the Council of the European Union (EU) imposed personal sanctions against her, and YouTube permanently removed her propaganda channel.
Criminal Cases
In 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) notified Panchenko that she was suspected of treason. According to the investigation, after working for sanctioned TV channels linked to Medvedchuk, she traveled to the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk, where she continued her subversive information activities in favor of the Russian Federation.
Law enforcement officials also noted that the propagandist publicly justified the armed aggression of Russian terrorists against Ukraine and called on citizens not to resist the enemy.
In addition, personal sanctions were imposed on her by a decree issued by President Zelenskyy.
In addition, the SBU has charged Panchenko with another offense—the production and distribution of materials that justify and support Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
