Amid Russia’s ongoing war, the systematic destruction of libraries and publishing houses, alongside the killing of Ukrainian literary professionals, exposes a broader attack on Ukrainian identity and an attempt to destroy the country’s independent future. Raphael Lemkin Society Digital Communication Manager Viktoriia Savchuk Kennet examines this pattern in her recent article for the Cultural Freedom Project Substack, an initiative of the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
The piece situates Russia’s destruction of libraries, schools, publishing houses, and the targeting of Ukrainian literary professionals within a longer history of cultural annihilation, from the burning of Sarajevo’s National Library in 1992 to today’s systematic assaults on Ukrainian cultural life.
Drawing on the February 2026 attack on the National Library of Ukraine for Children and official data showing that 852 libraries have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the full-scale invasion, the article underscores that these are not isolated incidents but part of a coordinated campaign against Ukrainian identity.
“Imagine an entire state with no public library left intact. For some regions in Ukraine, that future is dangerously close. The most affected areas include Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, and Mykolaiv,” writes Viktoriia Savchuk Kennet.
Referencing the warnings of Raphael Lemkin, the article frames attacks on books, libraries, and cultural workers as a core element of genocide, while also highlighting Ukraine’s resilience as libraries reopen, publishers continue working under fire, and cultural institutions persist in preserving memory and meaning despite relentless attacks.