Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has resigned after a series of “disagreements” with President Volodymir Zelensky related to budgets and political stance.
Tkachenko reported this Friday, through the Telegram digital messaging system, that on Thursday he presented his resignation letter to Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, after “the wave of disagreements about the importance of culture during the war.”
The resigning minister was “surprised” in relation to Zelensky’s statements in this regard.
“Culture during the war is important because this is a war not only for territories but also for people and people are our memory, history, language, creativity (…) future,” Tkachenko declared.
“During the war, private funds and budgets for culture are no less important than ‘drones’, because culture is the shield of our identity and our borders,” he stressed.
Tkachenko, who had already threatened to resign on November 11 last year, took over as culture minister in June 2022.
On Thursday, the Head of State of Ukraine asked the Prime Minister to accept the resignation of the Minister of Culture, stating that there are other priorities.
“Museums, cultural centers, symbols, television programs: all of this is important, but now there are other priorities (…). Everyone understands what is at stake. The decoration of cities, fountains and stones can wait. Victory comes first.” Zelensky said.
Source: TSF
