MCSC suspends issue of permits to travel abroad to artists and journalists starting March 3

Photo by prikhodko.com.ua

The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC) will stop issuing letters to the State Border Service (SBS) assisting artists and media workers eligible for the draft to travel abroad. The decision will be in effect starting March 3 and until the regulatory and legal aspects of the issue are addressed, the MCSC website announces.

The decision was made due to numerous cases when persons who received permits from the State Border Service to travel abroad did not come back to Ukraine within the established deadlines.

The Ministry noted that they had initiated changes in late 2022 that would minimize the exploitation of cultural diplomacy for illegal travel abroad under martial law. However, this issue remains unresolved.

Currently, the Ministry has developed draft amendments to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers “On the Rules for Crossing the State Border by Citizens of Ukraine” No. 57 (dated January 27, 1995), which are currently going through interdepartmental approval.

“The proposed draft amendments outline exhaustive requirements for the Ministry to make decisions on granting a letter of assistance to men of draft age who work in the fields of culture, information security, strategic communications, and linear audiovisual media for temporary travel abroad during the period of martial law,” the message says.

The MCSC added that they are aware of the importance and necessity of constant international cultural and media interaction and that they are working to address the aforementioned legal irregularity.

Previously

On December 22, 2023, Channel 24 journalist and presenter Oleksiy Pechyi announced that he had decided not to go back to Ukraine after a business trip to a EU summit in Brussels. He explained his decision to stay in Europe, alleging that Ukraine could use more “horizontal communication with Western society” and decided to establish this horizontal communication after the EU summit.

Channel 24 stated that Oleksiy “decided to flee the country”. Pechyi’s decision was condemned by his colleagues.

The then Ministry of Culture and Information Policy condemned Oleksiy Pechyi’s actions, saying that he had violated the law.

Following the incident with stand-up comedian Andriy Shchehel, who traveled to Turkiye as part of a group with a temporary permit and remained there, having received three conscription notices, the MCIP submitted a stricter procedure for obtaining permits for temporary travel abroad for men of draft age for government approval.

The TVORCHI band expressed concern on Instagram that the travel rules amendments for artists will make them unable to perform in Nairobi at the invitation of USAID or on a Eurovision promotional tour.