What follows is an interview with Ukrainian journalist and TV host Diana Panchenko. Panchenko graduated from Kiev Polytechnic Institute with a degree in publishing and editing, and then from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev with a law degree. She has been nominated for the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize for her contributions to the cause of press freedom. Conversely, sanctions, including asset confiscation, have been imposed against Panchenko by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Several criminal cases have also been initiated against her, including a charge of treason for reporting honestly on the devastation inside Ukraine. For this, she faces a potential life sentence. This interview was conducted and translated by Sascha Roßmüller for the German print magazine Deutsche Stimme. An English version was edited for length by James Edwards for the American Free Press.
American Free Press: How have developments since 2022 impacted your career as a Ukrainian journalist?
Diana Panchenko: Being a journalist in Ukraine is a thankless job. Over my 15 years in the trade, I’ve been assaulted three times. Every day, I receive threats. [Volodymyr] Zelensky has imposed personal sanctions on me. I have a criminal trial launched against me and a life sentence is in the cards—all for a post on “Telegram” saying we need peace talks to save Ukraine. This is not a joke; it’s all in my case files.
When I hear them say Ukraine is fighting for its freedom in this war, it hurts. I know there’s no freedom there. My shows used to have the highest ratings of all Ukrainian news media. I won a Journalist of the Year award. When the war began, I was in Kiev. I’ve been to the demarcation line. I know what I’m talking about.
But let’s start from the beginning. During the Maidan events of 2014, I was a reporter. Every day, I went there. I saw the mob throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the police. I saw people getting paid for provocations. You won’t hear this in the Western media.
After the success of the Maidan “uprising,” the government introduced strict censorship. The minority took over the majority. It was a death sentence to say that you were against Maidan and didn’t support the coup. Several high-profile journalist assassinations happened at that time in Ukraine, including the murder of Oles Buzina.
After Maidan, I worked at the News One channel. Our stance was honest and unbiased. We covered Zelensky and his team’s corruption. We provided a platform to the proponents of the Minsk Agreements and Ukraine’s neutral status. We advocated for peace.
For that, in February 2021, Zelensky closed our channel and two others for violation of the Ukrainian constitution. This happened a year before the war, another indication that back then, he already knew what was coming and tried to cancel all alternative information sources. I was immediately declared a public enemy, and the hunt started. There were several assaults against me.
Since the war began, the dictatorship in Ukraine has hardened. Now, all TV channels have been closed. There’s only one left, and it’s under Zelensky’s control. All popular journalists received visits from members of the SBU, Ukraine’s secret intelligence service. They threatened the safety of my loved ones.
Any criticism of the authorities is considered treason. Since the war began, the SBU has initiated over 2,500 criminal trials on political charges. Some of my colleagues have gone missing. Others were tortured. Many of them are in jail. Only thanks to my high profile did I survive and manage to leave the country and to stay in journalism. I kept my moral integrity.
For eight years, the government in Ukraine has manipulated public opinion claiming it planned to return Donbass. But nobody was going to do that. So I went to Donbass to talk to people there and made a documentary about that visit.
Today, my YouTube channel is the most popular Russian-language political channel. I have more than 70 million monthly views. But the government is doing everything in its power to cancel me.
AFP: Before 2014, Ukrainians and Russians were mostly considered as brethren people, not enemies. Due to the particular differences between Western and Eastern Ukraine, do you think the escalating development could have been avoided if Ukraine had been a less centralist and rather a more federalist structured state? Or did overwhelming non-governmental organizations influence the launch an inescapable direction of the development?
Panchenko: I had to write a book to answer that question. It’s called The Inevitable. It’s been translated into English and will soon be available in Europe. The Russia-Ukraine war was not a coincidence. They were preparing to sacrifice Ukraine—not just for the past 30 years, but since the end of World War II.
To understand where Ukraine’s path could lead, just take a look at the map. We only had to stay neutral—not pro-Russian, just neutral and away from trouble. Instead, NATO was building its infrastructure in Ukraine. There’s no secret about it. It’s all out there. They were building bases, bringing instructors, and portraying Russia as the enemy.
It all started even before 1991. Even before World War II ended, UK and U.S. intelligence services were working with Ukrainian nationalists against the USSR. In the spring of 1945, the Galicia Division signed an agreement with British intelligence.
In 1951, the U.S. military command and OUN, a nationalist organization, held talks about inciting an uprising on the Soviet home front.
Ukrainian nationalists have been a traditional tool for the West to undermine the USSR. In 1950, Ukrainian nationalist ideologue Petr Poltava published an article titled “Preparation for World War III and the Objectives of the Ukrainian People.”
This might sound pretentious, but mark my words: Ukraine’s hostility toward Russia is enough to ignite a war in Eurasia by definition. I don’t think the world truly understands that yet.
Ukraine had two options. Option one: neutrality and good relations with Russia. Option two: a buffer zone and war—war to the last man. Ukraine chose the second. Or rather, it was chosen for Ukraine. I’m not going to list the funds the West spent to turn Ukrainians against Russians. Enough has been said on this topic already.
But, as someone as old as modern Ukraine, I have to say that we are part of a grand experiment. Through propaganda, they turned kin people into enemies. This all starts in school. In literature and history classes, they keep saying Russia is the cause of all our problems. All who called for peace and warned us have been canceled, killed, or jailed.
The example of my homeland, Ukraine, teaches us that war always catches us by surprise. One day, you wake up to sirens and your life will never be the same.
AFP: How do you assess the Minsk Agreements?
Panchenko: Panchenko: Even if we don’t question whether anyone actually intended to implement them, it’s a matter of Ukraine and NATO. It’s a matter of life and death for Russia; a matter of turning Ukraine into an “anti-Russia.” Truth be told, the Ukrainian government never cared about Donbass or Crimea, for that matter. Neither Zelensky nor Petro Poroshenko [Ukraine’s fifth president, 2014-2019] wanted to reclaim the unloyal population that would never vote for them. The Minsk Agreements allowed Ukraine to reclaim Donbass, and the government had a chance to do what it took to return it. But they didn’t want to. The issue with modern Ukraine is that we’re not allowed to call a spade a spade.
Everybody knew that Donbass and Crimea were gone for good, yet they still bombarded the audience with propaganda slogans, and continue to do so, even now. Neither Zelensky nor the people believe in returning to the 1991 borders, but it’s forbidden to say it out loud.
Recently, Ukrainian influencers recorded a call for negotiations. And the SBU summoned them for interrogation. It’s hard to build a state on lies. Ukraine doesn’t even have a political language to describe the reality around us.
AFP: What is your perspective on Zelensky personally, his regime in general, and the overall situation in Ukraine regarding the accusation of corruption?
Panchenko: I know Zelensky a little. I know his team. He’s addicted to glory and hates criticism, first and foremost. This isn’t necessarily bad for an actor, but absolutely unacceptable for a politician, let alone a president.
Presently, Zelensky isn’t making any decisions. The U.S. State Department is making them for him, with Jake Sullivan as his supervisor. In Ukraine, power is executed by the head of the President’s Office Andrei Yermak. And my sources say he’s ready to dump Zelensky.
Ukraine has always been fertile soil for corruption, and today, it’s in full bloom. A few weeks before the war, ex- Zelensky advisor Sergei Shefir was moving enormous sums of cash out of the country and transferring funds to offshore accounts.
Ex-Minister of Defense Reznikov transferred $1 billion to offshore accounts. But that is just a drop in the ocean. Recently, I released a video on “X” about some embezzlement cases known to the media. The total amount in these cases reaches $60 billion. That’s why people aren’t eager to go to the frontlines. They don’t want to die only to make Zelensky and his team even richer. Does the White House know this? Certainly. They’re covering up for each other.
For years, the West has been hooking Ukrainian elites. Corrupted officials are easier to control; it’s leverage. When the United States decides to dump Zelensky, you’ll see it immediately by the number of reports about his corruption in the global media.
AFP: The ongoing geopolitical proxy war in Ukraine is a terrible meat grinder where young men are being sacrificed for primarily non-continental interests. What‘s your knowledge regarding the failed peace negotiations back in March 2022?
Panchenko: First of all, this is a senseless war. At each stage, Ukraine could’ve stopped it. And the longer it rages, the more Ukraine loses. I met Zelensky’s advisor after the Istanbul talks. He was there and he boasted, “We played the Russians.” He said the Ukrainian army was going to enter Crimea, there would be a revolt in Russia, and they’d overthrow President Putin.
So I asked: “OK, but what if Russia retaliates with nuclear weapons?”
“Well, 60,000 people will die, but that’s the price we’re willing to pay,” he replied.
Zelensky’s entire “winning tactic” was based on a coup in Russia. Pretty short-sighted if you ask me, because Russians would rather go to the draft office than to protest in the streets.
Zelensky’s reputation in the first year of the war hung by the myth that Ukraine “repelled the attack on Kiev.” Except there was no fighting for Kiev. It’s Zelensky’s propaganda myth that presented Russia’s pullback as part of negotiations as a victory.
Not a single Russian official publicly mentioned plans to take Kiev. Instead, early on, Russia gained access to the Azov Sea in Mariupol and established a strategically important land corridor to Crimea.
AFP: Of what relevance is the question of who is sitting in the White House?
Panchenko: I’d be happy to be mistaken, but I think it’s a big over simplification to say Donald Trump is going to stop the war. Ukrainian politicians don’t shy away from brazen criticism and even insults toward him. My sources indicate Zelensky’s team has compromising information on both contenders. The release will depend on the political situation. This is going to be the third time Ukraine has interfered in the U.S. elections.
AFP: Are you concerned the increasing tension in multiple areas could escalate into a larger catastrophe, or do you also see some developments that could potentially contain the dangerous trends?
Panchenko: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t see any prospects for de-escalation. We’re living in a world where you cannot tell the truth. To put it simply—the warmongers won’t let it happen. The world is ruled by an aggressive minority. They oppress, cancel, or kill anyone who disagrees, and cover their crimes with nice-sounding progressive ideas and “democracy.” The Maidan events have basically spread across the world.
Three centuries ago, in his philosophical essay “Toward Perpetual Peace,” Immanuel Kant declared that humanity could achieve universal peace either through universal enlightenment or a devastating conflict. Sadly, it looks like only something terrible will make people give it some thought. That means more people are going to die.
I’d love to be wrong, but it looks like the next phase of escalation is an all-out war between Russia and NATO—in both Ukraine and throughout Europe.
AFP: What is the future of Ukraine and Europe?
Panchenko: Ukraine’s sovereignty is lost. Its economy has halted. The nation is living on a credit line. Ten million people have left, and more will follow the moment Ukraine opens its borders. Society is divided and full of hatred, which is now the official policy. The United Nations forecasts Ukraine’s population to shrink to 15 million by 2100. According to my sources, it’s already around just 20 million. In 1991, it was 52 million. So, who’s launched a genocide of Ukrainians, the Russians or our present government? Zelensky’s team is holding our people hostage and turning down any negotiation proposals, so the war will continue. And Ukraine will keep losing ground.
It pains me to say this, but today, Europe is following in Ukraine’s footsteps by making decisions that hurt its people.
AFP: How about your future?
Panchenko: My main goal is to help people understand one another. The root of all evil is ignorance. For years, they’ve been building a wall between Russians and Ukrainians, so they know close to nothing about each other. Now they’re building a similar wall between Russia and Europe. Today, I’m focusing on telling people the truth about the war in Ukraine to prevent an even bigger conflict. I’m publishing videos on my “X” account. My book will soon be published in Europe and the United States, and I’m also planning to adapt it for the screen.
I pray for peace for all of us, and hope that reason will prevail.
Sascha Roßmüller is a German journalist and author. He has held numerous offices in the party formerly known as NPD, now called Die Heimat. A popular speaker and media guest, Roßmüller writes for the German print magazine Deutsche Stimme.
James Edwards is the outspoken host of The Political Cesspool, one of America’s most potent talk radio programs. He has made numerous television guest appearances and his work as a political commentator over the past two decades has been the subject of articles in hundreds of print publications and media broadcasts around the world.
