We demand an immediate halt to the so-called 109 million UAH competition for oligarchic telethon channels, says the European Solidarity faction.
European Solidarity is outraged by the government’s decision to allocate another 109 million hryvnias by the end of 2025 to private oligarchic telethon channels that operate solely to promote monopoly power.
The generous funding of the telethon from 2022 to 2025 comes amid chronic underfunding of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The marathon has sparked outrage among the military itself; Ukrainians have long distrusted this propaganda tool; and European partners have called for its closure in numerous reports from the European Commission, the State Department, and resolutions from the European Parliament. Despite this, the Office of the President, the Cabinet of Ministers, and the “Servants of the People” have allocated over 1.5 billion hryvnias from Ukrainian taxpayers’ pockets for the marathon in 2025 alone.
While military personnel have not received a salary increase for the fourth year, there is a shortage of weapons and drones, and rear-area cities remain without adequate air defense protection.
As has become known from open sources, of the planned 1.5 billion UAH, the oligarchic telethon participants have already spent 1 billion 191 million UAH, and now, with a week left before the end of the year, they are frantically preparing to spend the remaining funds.
It’s no secret that the marathon, in addition to its propaganda function, has skillfully served as a feeding trough for Mindich and his “Kinokoty” (Cinema Cats) over the years. Hundreds of millions were siphoned off to corruption, instead of being redirected to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 109 million hryvnias spent on television lies a week before the end of the year is a clear attempt to urgently “appropriate” funds, paying the marathon for loyalty and political censorship. This smells especially bad against the backdrop of the authorities’ talk of possible elections during martial law. The marathon has long served the authorities, distorting reality and creating a parallel information world.
We demand an immediate halt to the so-called bidding for 109 million hryvnias announced for the creation of a TV product for the marathon. We urge that these funds be directed to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, along with the 300 million hryvnias still unused to finance the marathon.
Ukrainians demand that these funds be directed to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, strengthening the air defense, and our faction supports this demand.
European Solidarity demands an urgent meeting with the leadership of the Ministry of Culture to decide on the future of the telethon, which has become obsolete and no longer meets the needs of a state at war.
A country at war should spend money on real weapons, not on television props.
European Solidarity has registered amendments to the 2026 budget . We demand that 100 billion hryvnias be redirected to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This includes funds from the marathon and a billion for so-called strategic communications.
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