Drozdova, owner of company, which has already received contracts from Rada channel worth UAH 350 million, worked with Zelenskyy’s business partner Mindich. VIDEO
The owner of the Kinokit company, which has been receiving millions of dollars in contracts from the state TV channel Rada for three years in a row, was a legal advisor to the firm of Timur Mindich, a former business partner of Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Yuliia Drozdova posted information about the year and a half of cooperation with this business on her LinkedIn profile, a social network for business communication, employee search, and open vacancies.
This is stated in a story by Bihus.Info, Censor.NET reports.
Kinokit was established in 2017. It began participating in public procurement in 2019, after Volodymyr Zelenskyy's team came to power. For example, it was this production company that provided technical support and broadcasting of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's press marathon in 2019 and the celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
At the end of 2021, Kinokit received UAH 9 million from the parliamentary TV channel Rada to develop a concept and new programmes. At the time of concluding this first million-dollar agreement with the parliamentary TV channel, Kinokit's founders changed.
Yuliia Drozdova became the owner of the production company. Prior to entering this successful business, Drozdova was a legal advisor to Meylor Global LLP, a company controlled by Timur Mindich.
Timur Mindich is a film producer and businessman, one of the co-owners of Kvartal 95, which Zelenskyy himself co-founded before becoming president. It was Mindich's Mercedes that Zelenskyy drove during the election campaign, and it was in Mindich's apartment, as recorded by journalists of the Schemes program, that the president was surprised for his birthday in the of quarantine in 2021.
When asked by Bihus.Info journalists how Yuliia Drozdova became the owner of the production company, she replied that she had bought it. When asked why she had decided to change her career path if she had previously worked as a legal adviser for Mindich`s British firm, Drozdova said that she had not worked there. After Bihus.Info journalists pointed out that this cooperation was mentioned in her CV, she asked for all questions in writing.
When asked whether other investors had invested in Kinokit, Yuliia replied that she had a non-disclosure agreement. She also noted that her joining the company and the first "Rada" contracts were not related processes. When asked whether Timur Mindich is related to Kinokit, Yuliia said: "I have been providing legal services since 2020, including for Meylor Global and other clients. Neither Timur nor any other person has any influence on the activities of Kinokit LLC.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Kinokit has been involved in the creation of content broadcast by the state-owned Rada TV channel as part of the United News telethon. Over the past three years, Kinokit has signed agreements with the state-owned Rada TV channel worth over UAH 350 million. The latest agreement was signed in January 2024. It is worth UAH 104.9 million per year.
In response to Bihus.Info's request to the state TV channel Rada, they said that the agreement with Kinokit was signed after the production company won an art competition in which two other companies, Sun Films and Faino Company, participated. The first company voluntarily withdrew before the results were announced. The second lost to Kinokit according to the tender criteria.
According to the documents submitted for the competition, Kinokit is a production company with its own studios (including a backup studio in a bomb shelter) and equipment. Kinonit employs more than 200 people.
