Zelenskyy has submitted a petition for consideration to revoke Potap's title of Honored Artist of Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has forwarded a petition calling for the revocation of the honorary title “Honored Artist of Ukraine” from performer Oleksiy Potapenko, known by his stage name Potap, for further consideration.
The petition was forwarded to Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi and Alexander Poklad, acting head of the Security Service of Ukraine. In accordance with their respective jurisdictions, they are required to address the issue raised in the petition in accordance with established legal procedures.
“I thank everyone who joined this petition for their active civic stance and for supporting initiatives aimed at protecting Ukraine’s cultural and informational space from Russian influence and narratives,” Zelenskyy stated in his response to the petition.
At the same time, he noted that the revocation of honorary titles is carried out in accordance with the Law “On State Awards of Ukraine” and the Law “On Sanctions.”
In particular, proposals regarding the imposition of sanctions are submitted for consideration by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine.
The President noted that materials regarding the imposition of sanctions must contain sufficient information, a description of actions and facts confirming the existence of grounds for the unquestionable imposition of sanctions, proper justification for the future decision, as well as the application of legal grounds.
“In light of the above, I have forwarded the aforementioned petition to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, S.F. Koretsky, and to Major General O.V.Poklad, with a request to address the issue raised in the petition in accordance with their respective authorities and in the manner prescribed by law,” the president added.
As previously reported, in early September, a petition on the President’s official website calling for the initiation of proceedings to strip Potapenko of his honorary title of “Honored Artist of Ukraine” garnered the number of votes required for consideration.
According to the petition’s author, the grounds include: the public use and promotion of Russian-language cultural content; public statements and actions regarding the Ukrainian language that could be perceived as devaluing, mocking, or opposing Ukrainian national identity; public collaboration and the creation of joint media content with citizens of the Russian Federation and representatives of the Russian entertainment industry; and actual residence and professional activities outside Ukraine.
According to the Law “On State Awards of Ukraine,” such awards may be revoked: upon a court conviction in which a person awarded a state award is found guilty of a serious or particularly serious crime, a criminal offense against the foundations of Ukraine’s national security, against peace, the security of humanity, and the international legal order, as well as a number of other criminal offenses; by a decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on the application of special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), enacted by a decree of the President of Ukraine, whereby a sanction in the form of revocation of a state award of Ukraine was imposed on a person who had been awarded a state award.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conferred the title of “Honored Artist of Ukraine” on Oleksiy Potapenko in June 2020.
In September 2025, Potapenko stated that since the start of the full-scale war, he had legally entered and exited Ukraine more than 14 times. Prior to that, he had stated that there are several legal ways to cross the border in Ukraine and that he had access to one of them. In September 2026, he stated that he had left Ukraine many times since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion under the pretext of charitable work, using permits issued by various ministries and companies.
For its part, the Ministry of Culture reported that it had asked the State Border Guard Service three times to allow Potapenko to travel abroad in 2022; after March 2025, there were no such requests.
This information is reported with reference to a petition.
We previously reported that the Verkhovna Rada did not support stripping Potap of his title of Honored Artist of Ukraine.
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