Berezhna: Up to 71% of Ukrainians still watch Russian content
This was reported by Tetiana Berezhna, and the presentation of the study was officially announced by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine on 21 April.
Tetyana Berezhna stated that demand for Ukrainian content in Ukraine is growing faster than its supply. According to her, the new media consumption study has very clearly shown where the country currently stands in the struggle for its own cultural space.
Among the key figures she cited is that 51% of Ukrainians have started consuming significantly more content in the Ukrainian language over the past four years. A further 14% have switched to Ukrainian-language content to some extent during this period.
At the same time, according to Berezhna, up to 71% of Ukrainians still consume Russian-language content, and almost a quarter do so daily. In its announcement of the presentation, the Ministry of Culture also cited the study’s key finding: in the fifth year of full-scale war, 71% of Ukrainians continue to consume Russian-language content, most often due to habit, accessibility, the workings of social media algorithms, and the lack of a competitive Ukrainian product.
The study places particular emphasis on teenagers. According to data cited by Berezhna, 59% of teenagers consume Russian-language content at least once a month. Another important finding is that young people spend up to 16 hours a day in the digital environment, and it is there that their identity is currently largely formed.
According to the minister, the greatest shortage today is high-quality Ukrainian children’s and entertainment content. Berezhna identified the key finding as the fact that Ukrainians want to consume Ukrainian content, but often choose what is more accessible, what they are used to, what is more prevalent in the information space, and what algorithms offer them.
In her view, under these conditions, content becomes a tool of influence, and Russia systematically uses it as part of an information war. That is why, during the presentation, together with Olena Kovalskaya, Yuriy Melnyk, Yevheniya Blyzniuk, Nataliya Kryvda and Serhiy Sternenko, they discussed how to strengthen Ukrainian content and reduce the influence of Russian products. The Ministry of Culture also confirmed in the event programme that the speakers included Tetiana Berezhna, Olena Kovalskaya, Yuriy Melnyk, Yevheniya Blyzniuk and Nataliya Kryvda.
According to Berezhna, the main focus now is on creating a sufficient amount of high-quality Ukrainian content that will win the competition for attention. She emphasises that it is precisely the quality, regularity and visibility of Ukrainian content that shape consumption habits, and as a result, the entire market changes.
Separately, the minister mentioned the “Tysiachovesna” initiative, which she described as the largest cultural support programme in Ukraine’s history. According to her, this involves 4 billion hryvnias of investment in the production of Ukrainian content. The Ministry of Culture officially states that “Tysyachovesna” is a state initiative to fund the creation of Ukrainian cultural products, implemented by the Ministry of Culture and the Office of the President as part of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s initiative. Its aim is to fill the information space with Ukrainian stories, strengthen the cultural resilience of society, create an alternative to Russian content, and shape a Ukrainian information environment for the development of young people.
According to Berezhna, “Tysyachovesna” covers seven categories – from films and TV series to animation, music and content for social media. The programme’s official pages specify that the competition has already begun, and the categories include contemporary music, performing arts, visual arts, as well as other categories of cultural products defined by the initiative’s terms. The State Agency for Arts also confirms that the competition is being held in accordance with Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 404 of 25 March 2026.
In conclusion, Berezhna stated that Ukraine has many talented creators whose names are already shaping contemporary Ukrainian culture, and that the state’s task is to provide them with resources and scale. In her view, once Ukrainian content becomes accessible, high-quality and a part of everyday life, it will become the natural choice.
As reported by ThePublic, the Ministry of Culture has announced the launch of the “Tysiachovesna” programme with a budget of 4 billion UAH for the production of Ukrainian cultural content – ranging from films and TV series to music, visual arts and social media content. The initiative is being launched against the backdrop of the 2026 state budget, in which the deficit ceiling has been set at 1.902 trillion hryvnias.
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