UAH 85 million allocated from the state budget for works in the Lavra between 2007 and 2013, - Tkachenko

Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko announced this during the "Yedini Novyny" telethon, commenting on the completion of the commission's inspection of the last two buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as reported by Ukrinform.

"They need to finish [the inspection]. There are still newly constructed buildings that need to be checked, and understand what to do with them in the future. There are certain conclusions, and we will talk about them separately when the time comes - very soon. But interesting facts emerged during the inspection. From 2007 to 2013, when representatives of one of the religious organizations (which was or is located on the territory of the Lower Lavra) claimed that they were collecting funds that they were given by benefactors and believers. But that's not true. From 2007 to 2013, 85 million UAH from the government (including during Yanukovych's time) was allocated for various works. We are currently determining what exactly these funds were used for: whether it was for the construction of new buildings or indeed for the preservation of heritage," Tkachenko explained.

He reminded that, according to the exchange rate at the time, it amounted to over $10 million received by the monastery from the government.

"Therefore, all these talks that they did it with their own funds, not at the expense of the state, do not correspond to reality," emphasized the Minister.