UK to allocate £ 9 M to support independent media in Ukraine

The United Kingdom will support independent media in Ukraine and in this order within 3 years-term they will allocate £ 9 M (around $1 264 thousand). Such was a message of Tariq Ahmad, british minister of state for the Commonwealth and UN, told at the 3^rd annual Ukraine reform conference. “Today, I can announce that we are also stepping up our support for independent media in Ukraine through a new £9 million project which will strengthen societal resilience to disinformation and help increase Government accountability by developing independent sources of information in Ukraine and across the Eastern Partnership countries”, Ahmad said. He added that independent media environment, which includes public service broadcasting, is the bedrock of a stable, successful democracy. Independent media can be a powerful tool to dull the impact of malign narratives that seek to sow discord and disrupt reform efforts. The minister said also that UK is committing more than £37 million over the next year to support Ukraine’s wider reform, defense, peacebuilding, anti-corruption and humanitarian efforts, and empowerment and equality of women. Tariq Ahmad commended efforts of Ukraine for its willing to introduce reforms. He said: “In the last 5 years, Ukraine has made more progress than in the previous 23 combined. We now see a coordinated plan of reforms across government. We see a more transparent procurement system, a reformed banking sector, better healthcare, and more decentralized decision-making that is closer to the people. Against a backdrop of relentless Russian aggression, this is a quite remarkable achievement.”