The management of Voice of America has decided to resume broadcasting in Ukrainian and return some editorial staff from administrative leave.
This was announced by the head of the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America, Ruslan Petrichka.
"This is a very important decision! Especially now, when Russia cynically shells Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities every day, kills civilians, and continues large-scale propaganda and disinformation campaigns against Ukraine. The restoration of the Ukrainian Service confirms the strategic importance of Ukrainian-language broadcasting for the fulfillment of the mission of the Voice of America and US interests. And this is good for Ukraine," he wrote.
According to him, the broadcasts will resume next week. He added that even more employees who were sent on leave will soon be returned to work.
Currently, Petrichka nominally remains the head of the Ukrainian service, but is still on leave.
What preceded
In mid-March 2025, the entire Voice of America staff—more than 1,300 journalists, producers, and support staff—was placed on administrative leave. The Ukrainian editorial office also suspended broadcasting.
This came after Trump signed an executive order on March 14 instructing the US Agency for Global Media and six other little-known agencies to reduce their operations to the minimum required by law, saying it was necessary to reduce bureaucracy.
Reuters notes that Trump, who clashed with Voice of America during his first term, wanted Kari Lake, his ally and former news anchor who has often accused mainstream media of being biased against Trump, to lead the network in his second term. He said this before his inauguration.
At the time, some VOA journalists expressed concern about the idea because Lake often criticizes the media and has disputed the results of previous elections. In late February, USAGM announced that Lake would join the agency as a special advisor.
Already in March 2026, a federal judge in the United States ruled that the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) must reverse its decision regarding Voice of America.
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