‘Bukvy’ found that Volodymyr Petrov who faces scrutiny over his offensive remarks about former German leader Angela Merkel has a history of gross jokes and controversial statements.

Many agreed that Petrov who now hosts a new TV show on the rebooted ‘Rada’ TV channel went too far with his not-so-veiled jabs targeting the German politician when he called her out over ‘swine behavior’ in treatment of Ukraine.

On December 15, Petrov commented on a recent article in the German ‘Bild’, according to which Merkel personally blocked the supply of weapons to Ukraine and put pressure on other NATO members.

During his speech, Petrov drew a parallel between Merkel’s actions and pig-like behavior. He stated that president Zelensky had personally asked for Ukraine’s access to weapons, which the chancellor refused in an ‘icy voice’.

Petrov made this allusion not for the first time.

On December 14, on the air of the ‘Petrov live’ program on the ‘Islandiya’ TV channel, the presenter said ‘speaking of pigs, I can’t help but mention Angela Merkel’.

 

On December 17, Volodymyr Petrov apologized for ‘unpleasant and tactless statements’ about Angela Merkel on the ‘Rada’ channel. He stated that ‘on that day and at that moment I was irritated by the information I received from the media, I did not fully understand the situation’ and that he should not have speak about the woman using such words.

Due to Petrov’s statement on the air of the state TV channel ‘Rada’, a meeting was held in the Verkhovna Rada at the request of the deputy speaker Olena Kondratyuk, resulting with Petrov’s dismissal.

Earlier, the newly rebooted ‘Rada’ TV channel found itself in a scandal connected to an unclear legal status.

Volodymyr Petrov is currently a suspect in criminal cases under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (false reporting of a crime, violation of dwelling privacy, violation of personal privacy, interference in the activities of a law enforcement officer).

It should be mentioned that on November 24, 2021, Volodymyr Petrov posted a video on the ‘Islandiya’ channel entitled ‘Soon there will be sensational details that will destroy ‘Bukvy’ media outlet’, in which he stated that ‘Bukvy’ will be closed down.

A few days later, on his Facebook page, Petrov urged ‘Bukvy’ reporters to resign; otherwise, it would ‘seriously affect their professional careers’. Such appeals can be regarded as attempts to prevent journalists from performing their professional duties, a criminal offense under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.