The Verkhovna Rada registered a draft law on increasing fines for listening to Russian music in public places of Ukraine. Currently, such a violation is punishable by a fine of up to 70 hryvnias, but the initiative provides for an increase to 5,100-25,500 hryvnias. The responsibility for compliance with this rule rests with the heads of trade, public catering and service establishments, who will bear financial consequences for violations.
The purpose of the draft law is to reduce the influence of Russian culture in Ukraine and to reduce the threat of enemy propaganda through musical means. Deputies justify the need for such measures by the fact that the current fines are not sufficient to effectively combat this problem.
The explanatory note to the draft law gives an example of a conflict in the Kyiv region in the summer of 2023, when a visitor to the institution complained about the use of Russian music in karaoke. This led to an administrative protocol with a fine from 17 to 170 hryvnias under Article 155 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, which, according to the deputies, is an insufficient measure of punishment.
"The adoption of this draft law will contribute to a more conscientious implementation of the legislation in the field of supporting the national musical product, and will also contribute to the consolidation of Ukrainian society," the deputies noted.
