“Tysyachovesna” Nears Deadline: Ministry of Culture to Allocate 4 Billion Hryvnias to Combat Russian Content
2 June 14:09
ANALYSIS
While the Verkhovna Rada is preparing Bill No. 15224 on the revision of the 2026 budget for its second reading—in which, thanks to record EU support (€45 billion), the lion’s share of resources is being allocated to defense and security—the state is not scaling back its activities in the “rear” sectors of the conflict. While an additional 1.5 trillion hryvnias is being allocated for armaments, 4 billion hryvnias has been directed toward the “Thousand Springs” initiative. The Ministry of Culture emphasizes that this is an investment in security that will prevent hostile narratives from infiltrating the minds of teenagers, who are the most vulnerable target audience of Russian propaganda.
On Thursday, June 4, the deadline for submitting applications to participate in the “Tysiachovesna” program—currently the largest state initiative to support national cultural products, launched by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—expires. Its main goal is to displace the dominance of Russian content in Ukraine’s information space. The total funding, to be distributed by the Ministry of Culture, amounts to 4 billion hryvnia. The program targets the broadest spectrum of creative industries—from auteur cinema to viral videos for social media.
As previously reported by "Komersant Ukrainian", according to the latest research by Gradus Research, despite years of full-scale conflict, about 71% of Ukrainians continue to consume Russian-language content. The situation is most critical among teenagers (ages 14–17). At the same time, experts estimate that Russia invests over $1 billion annually in the production of content containing ideological narratives.
The budget pie: from 100% to 50%
The organizers have allocated funding across various categories using flexible financing schemes, differentiating projects based on their commercial viability and social significance.
- Up to 100% coverage of costs —art house films, animation, directorial debuts, children’s content, as well as debut exhibition and concert programs.
- Up to 80% coverage of costs —feature-length fiction and documentary films, entertainment and educational shows (20% provided by the producer).
- 50/50 co-financing —commercial fiction and documentary series (excluding animated and auteur series).
A specially created commission, comprising leading Ukrainian industry experts, will decide the fate of the submitted applications. Among them are director Dmytro Sukholitkyi-Sobchuk, producer Iryna Kostyuk, and music video director Katya Tsaryk.
The selection process will consist of three traditional stages, which, according to the organizers, are intended to weed out unviable concepts:
June 4 — the deadline for submitting applications.
- June 5–12 — technical screening.
- June 17–July 28 — expert evaluation.
- August 12–16 — final pitching.
Although the overall budget deficit is shrinking thanks to external support, the state is clearly setting priorities: national security is not just about tanks; it’s also about the values we project.
Interviewees "Komersant Ukrainian" at the relevant ministry emphasize that, in addition to the obvious communication goal of “shaping a resilient generation, protected from informational influence,” the agency expects that the injection of 4 billion hryvnias into the creative sector will utilize the production capacities of local film studios and stimulate the domestic advertising and distribution market.
The Ministry of Culture states outright: in conditions where the battle for citizens’ minds has intensified to the limit, the production of domestic content is shifting from the realm of art into the sphere of national defense.
