On November 18, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, met with Marko Wanderwits, Deputy Head of the Bundestag Committee on Culture and Media.
Oleksandr Tkachenko suggested focusing on the further political isolation of russia. After all, the brutality of the russian federation and, at the same time, the energy war against Europe requires quick and effective actions.
“russia destroyed or damaged hundreds of objects of cultural infrastructure in Ukraine. Because of the war, we have suffered significant losses in all directions, but the main thing is that we are losing people. Despite everything, about 80% of artists stay at home and need to be supported. After all, they are the ones who support our citizens, who are going through the darkest times, literally and figuratively, in the entire modern history of Europe,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
The parties discussed additional protection for cultural institutions in the form of emergency heating and power supply systems in case of network damage by missiles. Cultural institutions don’t have enough emergency equipment such as generators, fire extinguishers, and fireproof materials to prepare and preserve their collections for the winter.
The total amount of financial support needed for critical regions of Ukraine, especially those on the front line, is estimated at 50 million euros. These are Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Donetsk, Kherson and partly Kyiv regions. Another 15 million euros are needed for other regions of Ukraine, as shelling continues.
In addition, there was a talk of recognizing the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. It should be reminded that in December of last year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted an appeal to the Bundestag with a call to recognize the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.
“We are following all the events surrounding the Bundestag’s recognition of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people. The fact of recognizing the genocide of the Armenian people in 1915-1916 shows us that legal aspects and judicial conditions are less important than a strong political will to call a spade a spade. After all, today we again became eyewitnesses of the genocide of the Ukrainian people. As history shows, the lack of clear condemnation of crimes against humanity leads to their repetition. We also insist that the dialogue about Germany’s historical responsibility to Ukraine should include only two sides – Ukrainian and German,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Minister thanked for the help that Germany provided to Ukraine during the war, in particular the support of numerous Ukrainian cultural initiatives. Since the beginning of the full-scale offensive of russian troops on Ukraine, charity concerts, art exhibitions and theatrical events have been held throughout Germany to support the Ukrainian people.
