New ventures with a controversial Ukrainian oligarch and an Egyptian politician pose questions about Euronews’ independence and European identity.

The multi-language broadcaster, based in Lyon, France, which received €25 million of EU money last year, announced the deal with Ukrainian tycoon Dmytro Firtash earlier this month.

It said Firtash’s Inter Media Group (IMG) will take over from Ukrainian state TV company NTU to air its Ukrainian programmes, in a decision which upset some Euronews reporters.

The 49-year old banking, gas, and chemicals billionaire has close ties to the Kremlin and, according to leaked US diplomatic cables, to the Russian mafia.

He’s currently under house arrest in Austria pending US extradition proceedings on bribery charges. But he’s also an opportunist – another one of his new projects is a Ukraine investment fund with links to EU personalities, such as former German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck.

Firtash’s deal with Euronews comes at a time when EU leaders are increasingly concerned about Russian “disinformation” on the Ukraine conflict.

In a sign of how toxic his name is, Euronews staff hung print-outs of his US charge sheet in the Lyon newsroom during the IMG talks.