UAH 2 billion for the telethon was removed from the 2026 budget

Expenditures for the UAH 2 billion telethon to be removed from the state budget for 2026

Ukrainian media report that in the process of agreeing on the draft state budget for 2026, political groups agreed to exclude expenditures on financing the national telethon. We are talking about the amount of about 2 billion UAH, which was previously proposed to be included in the expenses of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

According to sources, this decision was a compromise during negotiations between parliamentary factions on the eve of the budget vote.

Why funding was removed

The media note that the refusal to provide direct budgetary funding for the telethon is due to:

• the need to cut costs,

• Prioritising the defence and social sectors,

• criticism from some MPs about the lack of transparency in the distribution of funds between TV groups.

Some sources say that the project's funding may be redirected to other formats of state information policy or left at the level of grant and partnership support.

Context.

The National Telethon has been running since the first days of the full-scale war. Over the past year and a half, there have been discussions about its effectiveness, rating and the appropriateness of large budget funding in wartime.

The issue of financing media projects has repeatedly caused political controversy within the parliament, which also influenced the current decision.

What's next

The final text of the budget will be revealed after the vote. If the agreement is maintained, in 2026 the state will not allocate a separate item for the telethon, and the mechanism of its further operation will be determined by additional decisions of the government and the Ministry of Culture.