The Cabinet of Ministers will not cut funding for “Thousand Springs” despite the “cosmic deficit” in the budget

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine does not plan to reduce spending on the Ukrainian culture support program “Thousand Springs,” initiated by Volodymyr Zelensky, despite a multi-billion deficit in the state budget.

This was reported by Ukrainski Novosti, citing the Ministry of Culture’s response to the outlet’s editorial inquiry.

The ministry stated directly that there are no restrictions on funding for the creation of Ukrainian cultural products.

“The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has reviewed your inquiry of September 28 regarding restrictions on funding for the creation of Ukrainian cultural products and, within its competence, reports that no such restrictions exist,” the ministry said.

The “Thousand Springs” program launched in the spring: in April, the Ministry of Culture began accepting competitive applications for the allocation of budget funds to create cultural products, and in June the application period closed. Presenting the initiative, Zelensky spoke of the need to “push out the Russians” on various fronts — from the battlefield to culture.

However, even during the competition, participants questioned the transparency of the distribution of budget funds: a third of the “Thousand Springs” winners turned out to be connected to members of the competition’s jury.

The state budget for the current year allocates approximately EUR 78.7 million (4 billion hryvnias) for the program’s implementation. Next year, spending on it will increase by 35% — to approximately EUR 106.3 million (5.4 billion hryvnias).

The decision not to cut funding for “Thousand Springs” was made against the backdrop of statements about the dire state of public finances. Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky announced a freeze on budget expenditures across all items except priority ones. Zelensky himself described the situation as a “cosmic deficit” in the budget.