Over the past decade, Ukraine’s livestreaming scene has evolved from a niche pastime into a vibrant, multifaceted digital ecosystem, deeply intertwined with the country’s unique cultural, political, and social dynamics. What began as a modest community of gamers and esports enthusiasts has grown into a powerful platform reflecting Ukraine’s resilience, creativity, and identity, especially amid the profound challenges posed by the ongoing war.
A mix of social and technological factors, esports achievements, political shifts, and the impact of war have all played a role in elevating Ukrainian to one of the fastest-growing languages in the livestreaming world. But it wasn’t always this way. In this new Spotlight series article, we take a closer look at the history of Ukrainian livestreaming. You can find articles about other countries by following this link.
Esports in Ukraine: The driving force behind livestreaming
To truly understand the origins of Ukrainian livestreaming, we must step back and examine the technological landscape of the time. In the 2000s, while much of the world was already exploring live broadcasting, high-speed internet in Ukraine was still scarce. Most users relied on dial-up connections, which were painfully slow and expensive.
Eventually, ADSL modems started to appear, but private internet providers were just beginning to gain popularity, and they were mostly limited to major cities. For fast internet access, people often turned to internet cafés, which were wildly popular and could be found on nearly every street corner. These clubs quickly developed loyal communities, where regulars formed local gaming scenes: they competed with each other and against players from neighboring clubs, organized small tournaments across a variety of games, formed teams, and swapped tips with friends.
By the mid-2000s, Ukraine had fully embraced the rise of competitive gaming and stepped into the global esports boom. Esports played a key role in driving the growth of livestreaming in Ukraine. The country’s thriving computer club culture helped produce a growing number of highly skilled players who went on to represent their cities — and eventually the nation — on the global stage.
Ukraine has produced several strong Counter-Strike teams, but none more influential than Natus Vincere (NAVI). As one of the most iconic esports organizations, NAVI has won major Counter-Strike tournaments worldwide and made history in Dota 2 by winning the first-ever The International and reaching the finals twice more. These successes helped cement NAVI’s legacy and fueled the ongoing popularity of Counter-Strike and Dota 2 in Ukraine.
The rapid rise of esports in Ukraine naturally fueled the growth of livestreaming. It followed a simple logic: Ukrainian teams were performing well, and local fans wanted to watch their matches. In the early days, Ukrainian esports fans had to watch their favorite teams on poorly organized streams, often plagued by low video and audio quality. However, as time passed, tournament production and technology continued to improve, delivering sharper visuals, clearer sound, live player interviews, interactive segments from events, in-game statistics, and more.
One of the early pioneers of esports livestreaming in Ukraine was Starladder (ex-cyberarena.tv). As early as the 2010s, Starladder was not only running its leagues and tournaments but also launched one of the country’s first dedicated esports broadcast studios. It wasn’t until several years later that other Ukrainian companies — like WePlay, Maincast, and others — began to follow their lead.
Today, esports is a core part of Ukrainian livestreaming, with esports channels from the Maincast studio ranking among the most popular Ukrainian-language channels on Twitch.
The political factor
Ukraine’s political scene has always been intense, with each election marked by scandals, investigations, and fierce media battles. Television played a central role, with political talk shows often backing certain parties while attacking others. Major TV networks were mostly controlled by oligarchs, who used them to promote their political interests, leaving little room for objective journalism.
As access to traditional TV was limited, many politicians and activists turned to alternative platforms. Livestreams on YouTube and Twitch, personal video blogs, and online communities allowed them to bypass mainstream media and reach audiences directly, part of a larger shift as the internet began to overtake television as the primary source of information and entertainment.
Seeing this, many Ukrainian TV channels also started transitioning to streaming. For example, channels like ”Факти ICTV” and “TSN” now stream round the clock on YouTube, simulcasting their TV broadcasts online. These channels lead the Ukrainian-language segment of YouTube in total watch hours.
The benefits of livestreaming over traditional TV broadcasts are obvious: it costs far less, requires no government permits, faces less censorship, and offers a more immediate connection with viewers. You can watch livestreams from anywhere in the world on any device, as long as you have a solid internet connection. Additionally, livestreaming seamlessly integrates with other online platforms, including messaging apps and various services.
Of course, modern livestreaming in Ukraine goes beyond just esports and politics. In recent years, there’s been a growing number of IRL streamers, entertainment shows, sports broadcasts, and more. Livestreaming in Ukraine has essentially become an alternative to traditional TV, leveling the playing field for politicians and giving viewers access to information that was previously kept from them.
That said, the political context in Ukraine isn’t a unique driver for livestreaming’s growth; similar trends can be seen in many other countries, especially across the post-Soviet region.
The identity crisis and the war in Ukraine
When discussing livestreaming in Ukraine, it’s crucial to highlight the issue of identity crisis. For many years, the Ukrainian media landscape was deeply intertwined with Russia’s. Russian TV channels were widely available, foreign films in cinemas were dubbed in Russian, and Russian music still regularly appears on Ukrainian charts.
The same pattern existed in livestreaming. Most Ukrainian content creators used Russian to communicate with their audiences, which helped them reach a broader viewership, not only from Russia but also from other countries where Russian was widely spoken, like Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and the Baltic states.
In the past, it was quite common for streamers from Ukraine to broadcast in Russian for audiences in Russia. But can we consider that part of Ukrainian livestreaming? It makes more sense to focus on Ukrainian-language streams, which until just a few years ago were more of a rare or even exotic occurrence. Ukrainian streams have been around since streaming platforms first launched, but they were extremely uncommon.
Some of the earliest Ukrainian-speaking Twitch streamers included Dobra_divka, Yevhen ‘’TaiTake’’ Pakholiuk, and OLDboiUA. Their content was often driven purely by personal interests — some played classic games, while others engaged viewers in casual conversations on a variety of topics. Unlike today’s streamers, they weren’t chasing hype or big game releases. Frequently, the most popular Ukrainian-language streams only had a few dozen viewers at a time.
Dobra_divka, one of the most popular female streamer from Ukraine / Photo: Facebook
The esports scene was much the same: companies like WePlay, Maincast, UPEA, and UESF attempted to broadcast tournaments in Ukrainian, but their viewership barely reached 1-2% of what those same studios pulled on Russian-language streams back then.
For years, Ukrainian livestreaming had lingered in the shadow of the Russian-speaking segment of the industry, but everything changed in 2022. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shocked the entire population and impacted every aspect of life, including livestreaming.
During the first weeks of the war, streaming took a backseat. Many people had to flee the country or relocate to safer cities away from the fighting near the borders. It felt like the whole livestreaming industry had hit the pause button, as both viewers and streamers had far more pressing concerns than live broadcasts.
However, within just a few months, things began to stabilize. A strong desire grew within the Ukrainian community to break away from the Russian-speaking media sphere. Many Ukrainians, as a matter of principle, started to avoid Russian-language content — they stopped watching Russian streams, listening to Russian music, and engaging with Russian-language media altogether.
Many popular Ukrainian streamers and bloggers who used to broadcast in Russian started switching to Ukrainian. Naturally, this took a big hit on their audience numbers, but that’s the last thing on your mind when you’re hearing air raid sirens.
The Ukrainian community turned away from Russian-language content, but Ukrainian-language content was scarce at the time. Demand for Ukrainian streams surged, and soon enough, creators stepped up to meet it.
After the full-scale war broke out, the Ukrainian livestreaming scene began growing rapidly. There was a major shake-up and audience migration. New stars emerged in the Ukrainian-speaking segment — streamers like Mykhailo ‘’Leb1ga’’ Lebiga, Philip ‘’thetremba’’, ivonyak, and luma_rum — all of whom started their careers and rose to success after the war began, riding the wave of cultural separation.
Today, Ukrainian-speaking streamers regularly attract tens of thousands of viewers, and their popularity has caught the attention of international peers who invite them to join global entertainment projects. For instance, Leb1ga captained the Ukrainian team in the media football league, Kings League.
Ukrainian-language livestreaming nowadays
The Ukrainian-language livestreaming scene is still far from reaching its full potential and continues to evolve in 2025. However, it already has several strong foundations, which we’ll explore below.
News and war reports
News broadcasts and military bloggers play a crucial role in the Ukrainian-language livestreaming landscape. During the ongoing full-scale war, Ukrainians are eager to stay informed about the front-line situation and global politics.
This type of content has consistently been in high demand and likely will remain so for the foreseeable future. At the moment, news channels and war correspondents lead the rankings as the most-popular Ukrainian-language channels on YouTube.
Esports
Esports continues to be a key part of Ukrainian-language livestreaming. Today, Ukrainian-language esports broadcasts regularly attract tens of thousands — and sometimes even hundreds of thousands — of viewers. The standout event in this category was the PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, a Counter-Strike championship that peaked at 137,886 Ukrainian-speaking viewers.
Today, Maincast Studio is essentially the dominant force in Ukrainian-language esports broadcasts. Still, some competition is starting to take shape. In 2025, a group of well-known Ukrainian streamers and Counter-Strike players launched a new studio called CCT, dedicated to covering esports tournaments. However, there are also many popular community casters, such as Oleksandr ‘’Petr1k’’ Petryk and Andrii ‘’Ghostik’’ Kadyk, who have seen their popularity soar after switching their streams to Ukrainian.
When it comes to viewer preferences, Ukrainian esports fans mainly follow Counter-Strike and Dota 2. These two games make up over 95% of the total watch time for all Ukrainian-language esports streams. Matches featuring Ukrainian teams, like Natus Vincere, B8 Esports, Monte, and Passion UA draw the most attention. In this way, Ukrainian fans are a lot like Brazilian fans — they get especially passionate when home teams are playing.
Sports content
Sports broadcasts have gained huge popularity in the Ukrainian-language livestreaming community. For instance, according to the Ukrainian livestreaming analytics platform Streams Charts, the Olympics 2024 broadcast from Paris on the “Суспільне спорт” channel attracted over 162,800 Ukrainian-speaking viewers at the same time. This currently stands as the livestreaming record for the Ukrainian language.
Ukrainian-speaking audiences are also very engaged with football competitions. Games featuring Dynamo Kyiv, FC Shakhtar, and the Ukrainian national team usually draw between 60,000 and 80,000 viewers on YouTube.
We shouldn’t overlook other sports, like track and field, boxing, and fencing, where Ukrainian athletes excel. When these events are streamed live, Ukrainian-language channels often draw tens of thousands of viewers.
Entertainment content
Humor has become a key part of Ukrainian-language livestreaming today. During the war, the community really craved lighthearted entertainment to help escape from the harsh realities around them. It’s no surprise that Leb1ga’s streams, always packed with humor and jokes, were warmly embraced. He’s now the top Ukrainian-language streamer on Twitch and has become a true inspiration for other content creators.
Top Ukrainian streamers playing online together / Photo: YouTube
Unlike before the war, the Ukrainian-language livestreaming scene is much more united today. Where streamers used to operate independently, they now team up, often co-stream, play games together, and collaborate in different ways. Young musicians, stand-up comedians, and influencers from other social platforms have been a big part of this shift, using livestreaming to connect more directly and quickly with their audiences.
Nowadays, it’s common in the Ukrainian livestreaming community for popular celebrities to drop into each other’s streams. These collaborations not only help them share audiences but also play an important social role.
Charity
Arguably, the defining feature of Ukrainian-language livestreaming today is charity. The full-scale war has brought society closer together — people started raising funds for those affected by shelling, for the military, animal shelters, and more. Livestreaming naturally became a key platform for these fundraising efforts.
Since 2022, nearly every Ukrainian-language channel on Twitch and YouTube has hosted charity fundraisers. In many ways, simply organizing these events became a way for streamers to show their strong social commitment. Viewers notice this and tend to support channels whose creators actively promote charity and helping others.
Leb1ga’s phone lagged becouse of mass donations during the charity stream / Twitch
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly how much money has been raised through livestreaming fundraisers, but there’s no doubt it’s in the millions, and that number keeps growing every day as these charity efforts continue. The war in Ukraine is still ongoing, and people remain eager to support their fellow citizens. For many, these fundraisers also serve as a way to manage stress, offering viewers a way to feel engaged and helpful to their community, even while simply sitting in front of their screens.
As Ukraine’s livestreaming scene continues to evolve, it remains a powerful reflection of the country’s culture, resilience, and unity. From esports arenas to frontline news, from humor to heartfelt charity drives, Ukrainian-language streams are carving out their unique space in the digital world, proving that livestreaming is much more than entertainment; it’s a vital part of modern Ukrainian identity.
