Zelensky vetoes bill allocating almost $16 million to Holodomor Museum

President Volodymyr Zelensky vetoed the bill allocating Hr 573.9 million ($15.6 million) to finish the construction of the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide on July 27.

The bill has been returned to the Parliament with recommendations from the president.

On July 13, the Parliament supported the allocation of the funds to reconstruct the first stage and commission a second stage of the museum.

Former Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko was criticized for the decision, prompting calls for wiser use of the state's budget during wartime

Tkachenko defended the move, saying it plays a role in winning the international recognition of Holodomor as a genocide. He also noted that the completion of the Museum would serve to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor.

The issue added to the growing dissatisfaction with Tkachenko among the public. A petition calling for his dismissal reached 25,000 signatures in June, the minimum amount needed for consideration by the government.

Zelensky then asked Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to consider replacing Tkachenko on July 20, and the Parliament finally dismissed him on July 27.

Tkachenko dismissal: Why was Ukraine’s culture minister controversial?

On July 27, Ukraine’s Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, dismissed Oleksandr Tkachenko from the post of minister of culture and information policy in a vote of 321 to 2. The issue came to a vote after the Parliamentary Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy rejected Tkachenko’s resignation o…

The Kyiv IndependentElsa Court