Even After Public Broadcasting Pulled Out, Ukraine’s “United News” Continues on State Funding

Since 2022, Ukraine has had a continuous television news program called “United News #УАразом” (Єдині новини #УАразом). It is a format in which multiple broadcasters take turns filling a single program that runs 24 hours a day. In English it is also called a “telethon” or “TV marathon.”

The Decision Came on March 18, 2022

The program’s basis is a decision the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) issued on March 18, 2022, “On the Implementation of a Unified Information Policy Under Martial Law.” The following day, March 19, President Zelensky brought this decision into force by Presidential Decree No. 152. The decree cites Article 107 of the Constitution as its basis.

The decision first sets out its reasoning: the Russian Federation’s direct military aggression, the aggressor state’s active spread of disinformation, distortion of facts, and justification or denial of Russia’s armed aggression. On that basis it sets out its goal: “to convey the truth about the war,” and to maintain a unified information policy for the duration of martial law.

The substance consists of just two items.

• Under martial law, implementing a unified information policy is a national security priority, to be achieved by combining all nationwide television channels whose programming consists mainly of news and news commentary into the round-the-clock information marathon “United News #UArazom,” a single information platform for strategic communications
• The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting (the broadcasting regulator) is recommended to take measures to carry this out

The decision does not specify which channels participate, who pays the cost, or who controls editorial decisions. Nor does it set an end date beyond “under martial law.” As of September 23, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada’s legal database lists both the decision and the decree as “in force.”

State Budget Funding, and Public Broadcasting’s Departure

How the program’s operations changed afterward can be traced through the European Commission’s annual reports assessing Ukraine’s preparations for EU membership.

• 2023: the government put public funds into the program (per the 2024 report)
• May 2024: the program’s format was partly revised, allowing public broadcaster Suspilne to operate with more independence. Suspilne began its own round-the-clock broadcast on Channel 1 (per the 2024 report)
• October 2024: Suspilne formally announced its withdrawal from the program and launched an independent news channel. The program has since continued with the remaining broadcasters and kept receiving state funding (per the 2025 report)
• September 16, 2025: the parliamentary channel “Rada” resumed live broadcasts of Verkhovna Rada plenary sessions (per the 2025 report)

Suspilne has operated as an independent public broadcaster since 2017, and the 2023 report describes it as the most trusted broadcaster among both radio and television. Even after this public broadcaster withdrew, the program has continued on state funding.

The European Commission’s Calls for Review

The European Commission’s assessments recognize the need to protect information in wartime while also raising questions about what the program should look like after the war.

The 2023 report does not mention the program directly, but points out that the collapse of the advertising market has driven media concentration, especially in television, reducing the chances for people to encounter diverse reporting. It calls for thinking through, ahead of the postwar period, how to build a pluralistic and independent television system.

The 2024 report writes that this state-funded program should be reviewed to ask “whether it is the best platform to enable a free exchange of views among the Ukrainian people.” Regarding the parliamentary channel, it states that its main purpose should be to convey the work of parliament, including the activities of opposition members.

The 2025 report goes further. It states that a review of this state-funded program should take place “no later than when martial law is lifted,” citing as the reason “continuing declining public trust and reach.” According to the 2024 report, Ukraine’s government adopted, on June 26, 2024, a roadmap for restoring a pluralistic, transparent and independent media space once martial law ends. The 2025 report calls for continuing its implementation.

A Measure That Began as a Wartime Response

“United News” became an institution the month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, as a wartime response to counter disinformation. The wording of the decision is brief and does not define how it should end. Now that public broadcasting has returned to its own broadcast and parliamentary coverage has resumed live, what remains is the question of when and how to end this jointly produced program that continues on the state budget. The European Commission has tied its answer to that question to the end of martial law.

What martial law restricts is covered in What Ukraine’s Martial Law Stops, and What It Cannot Stop, and the fact that media law was among the conditions for EU membership is covered in Four and a Half Years After Applying to Join the EU, How Far Has Ukraine’s Negotiation Come?. See also Five Things to Check First When Reading Ukraine News for cautions on reading the news.