The Verkhovna Rada appointed Tetyana Berezhna as Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy – Minister of Culture. ‘Strategic Communications’ was removed from the ministry's name. The Ministry of Culture received this addition in 2024, but this summer it was decided to separate the communications department.
The candidate was presented by Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko, and the meeting was broadcast on the Verkhovna Rada's YouTube channel. Svyrydenko noted that in wartime, culture cannot be a secondary issue, as it is part of Ukraine's national resilience and voice in the world, so a person who knows how to turn visions into practical results is needed.
The prime minister said that Berezhna has extensive experience in cultural diplomacy.
‘As deputy minister of economy, she implemented large-scale programmes in the field of support for Ukrainian producers, employment, education, human capital development in Ukraine, and major cultural projects at the global level,’ Yuliya Svyrydenko said.
She expects Berezhna to develop cultural policy in her role as minister.
During her speech, the candidate herself said that culture is a matter of national security and the reason why Ukraine is fighting.
She named changing the approach to financing culture as one of her priorities, in particular through the development of a draft law on patronage and the formation of a Cultural Heritage Preservation Fund, which will be presented in Copenhagen. The second priority is the preservation of cultural heritage. The third is preserving the autonomy and sustainability of institutions, particularly financial ones. She will also focus on cultural diplomacy.
‘Culture is an area for dialogue with our European and global partners,’ she added.
Among other things, Berezhna emphasised the need to support the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Tetyana Berezhna
Berezhna has been working in the Ukrainian government since 2022. In June, she became Deputy Minister of Economy, but in July 2025 she moved to the Ministry of Culture, also as a deputy and immediately acting minister.
Prior to that, she practised law and was Ukraine's commissioner at EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Japan. She was responsible for the Ukrainian pavilion.