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96% of political guests on the United News Marathon were representatives of the authorities.
Since early May 2022, Detector Media has been collecting data on people appearing on the United News telethon.
In February 2026, Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel held 1,219 conversations with guests — fewer than in January (1,378), though the average number of conversations per day remained almost the same at 43.5. The difference is due to February having fewer days than other months. Women made up 21.5% of guests, one percentage point less than in January.
On the United News telethon, the number of guests also declined and, for the first time, did not even reach 1,000 conversations per month, totaling 907. However, the daily averages remain close to January’s figures. The apparent drop is largely due to the shift in January, when the Rada TV channel left the telethon, significantly changing its typical scale. Women accounted for 16.3% of guests — one percentage point more than in January.
Number of guests on the United News Marathon and Suspilne’s Pershyi ChannelFebruary 2026
Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel continues to lead in the number of unique guests, reaching 692 in February. This means the average speaker appeared in 1.76 conversations during the month.
On the United News telethon, 503 different individuals appeared over the month, with an average guest participating in 1.8 conversations.
This is one of the first times the diversity of guests on the state telethon has reached such levels: typically, the figure exceeded 2.0. It raises the question of whether different channels, now without interference from Rada, will be able to surpass Suspilne in guest diversity through their editorial policies.
Number of unique guests on the United News Marathon and Suspilne’s Pershyi ChannelFebruary 2026
The changes in the United News telethon are also evident when looking at its most frequent guests. Previously, some individuals appeared twenty or even thirty times per month, but in February, the top figures were much more modest—12 appearances. The most frequently invited were Oleksandr Kovalenko, spokesperson for the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration; Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration; and Oleksandr Musiienko, a military commentator.
Ten appearances each were recorded for Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, Kyiv City State Administration spokesperson Kateryna Pop, political analyst Oleh Oleshchuk, and Dmytro Zhmailo, executive director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. Without the Rada channel, the telethon’s guest policy has clearly shifted away from relying heavily on official spokespersons toward a broader range of voices.
On Suspilne, which, as noted, hosted around 300 more interviews this month, only one person appeared as many as 12 times—Vadym Kushnikov, a columnist for the Militarnyi portal. All other guests appeared nine times or fewer. In particular, Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, and Volodymyr Omelchenko, director of energy programs at the Razumkov Centre, each took part in nine conversations.
Most frequent guests on the United News telethon and Suspilne’s Pershyi ChannelFebruary 2026. Guests are ranked by the total number of appearances on the telethon and Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel.
The disappearance of the Rada channel, of course, did not lead to the appearance of “European Solidarity” on the telethon. On the contrary, following the criminal case against Yulia Tymoshenko, censorship was also extended to “Batkivshchyna”—previously the most frequently featured nominal opposition party on United News. In fact, if you’re wondering how many times over 28 days the telethon channels gave the floor to anyone other than representatives of the authorities, the answer is two. Just two times: once to the Holos party, and once to the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, who is formally independent (elected from “Batkivshchyna”).
Even representatives of the authorities were invited less frequently on United News — a total of 44 appearances over the month, divided among the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the Servant of the People faction. This results in a current government-to-opposition ratio on the telethon of 96% to 4%.
Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel, by contrast, provided a more balanced platform for all political forces, both government and opposition. The only group not invited were representatives of the Office of the President, while members of the Servant of the People party appeared 62 times.
Presence of political forces’ representatives on the United News Marathon and Suspilne’s Pershyi ChannelFebruary 2026
As for topics, Suspilne traditionally focused the most on international affairs, which accounted for 26.7% of airtime. Military developments came second at 22.3%, while 10.2% of broadcasts were devoted to domestic politics.
The United News telethon dedicated 37% of its airtime to military developments and 19% to international relations. It covered economic issues twice as often as Suspilne. Meanwhile, domestic Ukrainian politics were discussed only once during the entire month.
Structure of topics in the United News Marathon and on Suspilne’s Pershyi ChannelFebruary 2026
Suspilne’s Pershyi Channel
- Military developments — 273
- Humanitarian situation — 193
- Culture — 13
- Economy — 43
- International relations — 326
- Ukrainian politics — 125
- Society — 246
United News Marathon
- Military developments — 337
- Humanitarian situation — 105
- Culture — 7
- Economy — 116
- International relations — 123
- Ukrainian politics — 1
- Society — 168
