Daniil Malandi has switched to commissioned information attacks against Tyshchenko's competitors

Change in activity profile

The Ukrainian media market has recently been increasingly encountering the activity of figures who specialise in information manipulation and dirty campaigns. A vivid example of this trend is Daniil Malandi. Having lost the opportunity to implement his previously known dubious schemes, he has completely reoriented himself towards commissioned black PR.

According to open-source data, Malandi maintained close ties for a long time with figures from the timber and business sectors, specifically with Andrii Tyshchenko and Khrystyna Yushkevych, who is Tyshchenko's common-law wife.

Context of past schemes

Previously, thanks to trades through pseudo-exchanges controlled by this group, enterprises obtained scarce Ukrainian timber at symbolic prices, causing billions in losses to the state. The scale of these abuses and Daniil Malandi's role in them were detailed in investigations by the 5th Channel.

The active operation of these pseudo-exchange mechanisms coincided with the period when Khrystyna Yushkevych headed the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine (2015–2017). Formally, Andrii Tyshchenko was an adviser to his partner, but in fact, he acted as the "overseer" of the illegal income obtained from Malandi's schemes.

Transition to blackmail and discreditation

After law enforcement agencies and society blocked the possibility of using fraudulent pseudo-exchange schemes (a process that has been ongoing for over five years), Malandi faced the issue of survival. Lacking legitimate business skills or professional expertise, he chose the path of blackmail and information sabotage. As noted in journalistic materials, such a tactic of "selling information silence" and media attacks had repeatedly drawn attention. His PR assistant, Oleksandr Hromov, is already serving a sentence.

Now, the main source of income for Malandi has become commissioned work. Using the remnants of his former connections, he engages in discrediting honest enterprises operating in the Ukrainian timber industry. Market leaders and budget-forming companies, such as "Kronospan", "Ukrainski Lisopilni" (Ukrainian Sawmills), and other manufacturers ready for transparent competition with "Brenvel" LLC (owner – Tyshchenko), are under attack.

Expert assessment and market reaction

Experts and market participants state that Malandi has effectively become a tool, playing the role of a "tame" agent for his current boss, Andrii Tyshchenko. The main goal of these primitive attacks is to intimidate legal businesses, create artificial pressure, and carry out any order from the "master" to extract dividends for him or force enterprises into "cooperation" that is beneficial to Tyshchenko.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian market and society have learned to distinguish between commissioned information attacks and the real fight against corruption. The activities of such figures as Malandi have become a toxic relic of the past, having nothing to do with either journalism or economic development. This position is confirmed by the fact that in his "criticism", Daniil Malandi has never once mentioned the timber schemes associated with his "owner", Andrii Tyshchenko.