The Cabinet of Ministers will allocate an additional 638 million hryvnias for the telethon — MP Zheleznyak

The government plans to allocate 638 million hryvnias to fund the “Yedyni Novyny” telethon. 

This was announced by Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament from the “Voice” faction, who published the relevant draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to the MP, the decision is expected to be adopted at today’s government meeting following the delegation’s return from Washington. Zheleznyak commented ironically on these expenditures, noting that such allocation of taxpayer funds is taking place amid discussions of reforms and international financial aid. 

Currently, there is no official confirmation of the document’s adoption or details regarding specific expenditure items. The telethon continues to function as a joint information resource of leading media groups to cover events of the war against Russia, though the issue of its funding remains a subject of debate in society and among politicians. Further details regarding the allocation of budget funds are expected following the results of a government meeting. Previously, budget expenditures on state media have repeatedly drawn criticism from the opposition regarding the appropriateness of such spending during martial law. 

Prior to this, an investigation was published showing that the Office of the President is spending exorbitant amounts of public funds on the television industry. In 2025, the Office of the President allocated 800 million hryvnias for the “United Marathon” and another 184 million hryvnias for the “We Are Ukraine” channel. 

The “We Are Ukraine” channel, which receives state support for producing content for the “United Marathon,” has faced financial difficulties. Laid-off employees claim that the salaries of those who remained on the job were cut by 20%. As a result, mass layoffs are taking place at the channel, and part of the staff is in limbo regarding their future employment.