On the evening of 20 July, Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal "due to a wave of misunderstanding about the importance of culture during the war".
"Culture in times of war is important because it is a war not only for territories, but for people, and people are our memory, history, language, creativity despite the war, heritage and the past for the sake of the future," Tkachenko said.
He suggested that both private and budgetary funds for culture in times of war are no less important than for drones.
"Culture is the shield of our identity and our borders. And this is my principled position against others," Tkachenko concluded.
On 20 July, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked Shmyhal to consider replacing the culture minister and to find extra-budgetary funds for truly essential projects. Public calls for Tkachenko's dismissal have become particularly pronounced after reports that the state would sponsor a popular TV host's series for 33m hryvnyas.