Members of the Committee of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine have announced their resignation.

"We fully understand the idea of introducing a special distinction for works of art created after February 24, 2022, to celebrate their contribution to the Victory. We believe that this proposal is important, therefore it requires careful thought and planning, in particular regarding the criteria, nomination and selection procedures. First of all, we are talking about determining a transparent and fair algorithm for future differences," the statement of the Committee members says.

The members of the Committee also believe that this process should take place in such a way as not to damage the existence and reputation of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.

"Perhaps it is appropriate for the initiators of such a distinction to think about a completely new award corresponding to the stated goal. Another option is to discuss the introduction of appropriate changes and new nominations to the Regulations on the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine before the start of the nomination of works for the 2024 prize," the statement reads.

At the same time, the statement notes that the term of office of the current composition of the Committee expired with the awarding of the 2022 Prize, but the members of the Committee, taking into account the organizational challenges of martial law, agreed with the proposal formalized in the presidential decree that the Committee in its current composition will continue to work during martial law and for two months after its termination or cancellation.

"We work within the main institutional framework, where transparency and consistency of the rules provided for by the Regulations and the cultural value of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize were and are decisive. We have conveyed this position to the Office of the President and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. In the current circumstances, when we were confronted with the intention to change the rules of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize ad hoc, add new nominations and speed up the selection procedure, the members of the Committee do not see an opportunity to continue working – and resign their powers," the statement says.

As reported, on March 10, Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko and head of the Committee of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine Yuriy Makarov said that the winners of the Shevchenko Prize, along with the winners of the new nomination dubbed "For Contribution to Victory," will be announced on May 22, the day of the reburial of Taras Shevchenko.

At the same time, on March 11, the Award Committee announced the winners of some of the nominations.

Later, Head of the Shevchenko Prize Committee, Yuriy Makarov, resigned.