Culture

Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna in Kyiv, Ukraine on April 21, 2026.
Culture

Ukraine's culture minister on why culture 'needs KPIs' to succeed

by Kate Tsurkan

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the country's culture has finally received the attention it had previously lacked. But Culture Minister Tetyana Berezhna aims for more than mere survival — she envisions a cultural sphere that thrives and becomes a major economic driver for Ukraine. In a conversation with the Kyiv Independent, Berezhna explains why culture needs measurable goals to succeed both nationally and internationally, how her experience in law, economics, and go

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Ukraine's point man with Trump tested as corruption probe intensifies

Newly released recordings linked to Ukraine's biggest corruption scandal have put Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, back into the spotlight, prompting renewed scrutiny over his role in U.S.-brokered peace negotiations. The developments come at a particularly sensitive moment. Umerov, a former defense minister, has not been formally charged but is allegedly under investigation. He is reportedly mentioned in the most recent set of leaked recordings, tying him

Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3, 2026.

Ukraine war latest: Russia's Kirishi oil refinery stops production after drone strikes

Key developments on May 5: * Russia's Kirishi oil refinery stops production after drone strikes * European Commission opens call for proposals to join EU-Ukraine Drone Alliance * Russian fiber-optic FPV drones reach Kramatorsk, Ukraine's Donbas stronghold * EU votes in support of Nuremberg-style tribunal for Russia. Ukrainian Flamingo missiles struck a Russian military production facility in Cheboksary overnight on May 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as part of a large-scale missile

About Culture

Our reporting on literature, films, art, and traditions from Ukraine and the latest news on culture in Eastern Europe.

Ukrainian culture
Ukrainian culture has survived centuries of Russian attempts to appropriate Ukrainian art, silence Ukrainian artists, and erase the Ukrainian language. Modern Ukrainian writers, filmmakers, and musicians — some of whom are serving on the front lines — continue to develop Ukrainian culture and fight for Ukraine’s future.
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