Ukrainian Culture Minister Resigns After Proposal to Spend Money on Cultural Programs

Ukrainian Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko has submitted his resignation. He announced this on his social media pages.

“I have submitted my resignation to the Prime Minister due to the wave of reactions stemming from my statements about the importance of culture during wartime,” he wrote.

Specifically, the ministry's idea to replace the Soviet symbols of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv with Ukraine's coat of arms, which is estimated to cost 28 million hryvnias, sparked mixed responses from the public. Online discussions have actively centered around why there is a proposal to spend on renewing the monument rather than purchasing drones for the Ukrainian army at this time.