Over 5 billion hryvnias over three years—the cost of the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon
21 April 12:25
Nina Yuzhanina , a member of the VerkhovnaRada’s Tax Committee,reported on the massive costs of the telethon and the planned allocation of an additional 1.5 billion in 2026, according to "Komersant Ukrainian", citing a broadcast by the “Kyiv24” television channel.
According to the MP, the total state budget expenditures for funding the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon over the three-year period from 2024 to 2026 will exceed 5 billion hryvnias.
Just for next year, the budget includes over 1.5 billion hryvnias, Yuzhanina noted.
“This is a massive amount of money that should be directed toward the needs of the military; instead, we see separate Cabinet resolutions allocating additional hundreds of millions, the origin of which— drawn from an empty Reserve Fund —raises serious questions,” she added.
The funds have already been allocated
Yesterday, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the allocation of nearly 638 million hryvnias for the production of content for the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon.
“…the government, having returned from Washington to demonstrate our commitment to reforms and respect for taxpayers’ money… will approve the allocation of 638 million hryvnias for a single telethon! P.S. 90 billion euros won’t spend themselves,” MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak criticized this government decision.
They wanted to cancel it back in February
MP Yaroslav Yurchyshyn stated last February that abandoning the “Single Marathon” was entirely appropriate. According to him, the state had done enough to ensure that media outlets affiliated with Russia were shut down in Ukraine.
“Therefore, I believe that abandoning the ‘Unified Marathon’ and returning to the previous competitive environment is entirely realistic. The National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting could receive additional resources thanks to savings from the ‘United Marathon’ to monitor more effectively and provide materials to our security services to stop any Russian influence,” the MP noted.
“The United Telethon”
The “Unified Telethon” is a joint information project of leading Ukrainian TV channels, launched by the state after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Its goal was to ensure the continuous broadcast of “verified news,” coordinate information policy, and counter disinformation under martial law.
