Russians confiscating and destroying Ukrainian literature and history textbooks

Russian occupiers are removing Ukrainian history books and fiction that don’t align with kremlin propaganda from libraries in temporarily occupied parts of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reports. 

«Military police» units are seizing books and carrying out so-called «ideological functions».

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the «police» are also removing books about the Orange Revolution, Revolution of Dignity, Anti-Terrorist Operation / Joint Forces Operation in east Ukraine, and history of Ukrainian liberation struggles. Ukrainian history textbooks, academic and popular history literature are also considered to be «extremist literature».

The russians have a list of forbidden names which includes Ivan Mazepa, Symon Petliura, Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych, Viacheslav Chornovil. 

Copies of Vakhtang Kipiani’s book The Case of Vasyl Stus have also been seized in Kreminna, Rubizhne (Luhansk oblast), Horodnia (Chernihiv oblast).  

The confiscated books are being destroyed on the spot or taken to an undisclosed location. 

In Starobilsk, Luhansk oblast, the russian occupation administration is taking measures to introduce russian rubles into circulation for payment in stores and markets, trying to install occupation administrations on the ground, and searching for patriots and participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation / Joint Forces Operation. 

Ukrainians are being told to gather documents, supposedly to register for pensions.

Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, russian occupation forces have damaged 518 schools – 72 of which have been destroyed completely. 

In Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, russian occupation forces shot and killed Oleksandr Kysliuk, a professor of Church Slavonic and Greek, historian and translator.   

Read also: Culture Disaster: What Ukrainian Sites Were Destroyed by Russian Occupiers