On August 29, as part of the visit to Germany, Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, met with Claudia Roth, German Minister of State for Culture and Media, Dr Tobias Lindner, Germany’s Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Member of the Bundestag, Katja Keul, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Member of the Bundestag, Marco Wanderwitz, Deputy Head of the Committee on Culture and Media of the German Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag.
All meetings concerned support for Ukraine, in particular in the sphere of culture and information policy. It was about urgent needs of 250 million euros for conservation of destroyed and damaged buildings, protection of collections and objects of cultural heritage, grants for artistic activities of cultural figures in Ukraine, support for book publishing, media and cinema. At the moment, the aid from Germany accounts for about 20 million euros.
“We are grateful to our partners for understanding that russia is waging the criminal war against the culture of Ukraine, that is why cultural objects are being systematically destroyed. Also special thanks for the help to culture and mass media workers who left their native country to continue their work in Germany. But the cultural front is being held primarily by cultural figures and media people in Ukraine and in extremely difficult conditions. German partners also understand that russian propaganda is poisoning their society as well. Therefore, we are counting on their help in joining efforts with colleagues from the G7 regarding joint actions in the direction of countering disinformation in the Information Ramstein format”, said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
Among other things, Oleksandr Tkachenko together with Claudia Roth and Katja Keul visited the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin, where talented Ukrainians study. Scholar-musicians from Ukraine performed well-known musical works of Mykola Lysenko and Illia Bondarenko for the guests.
It should be reminded, in June this year, Claudia Roth visited Odesa. She noted that putin’s regime is waging a criminal war against Ukrainian culture and seeks to weaken Ukrainian identity. But Germany firmly stands with Ukraine when it comes to cultural and media policy.
