The Russian army has destroyed 131 public libraries in Ukraine, and nearly 750 more are in need of repair.
This was reported by the chief librarian of the National Library of Ukraine named after Yaroslav the Wise, Valentyna Zdanovska, during the all-Ukrainian scientific conference "Russia's War Against Ukraine (February 2014 - February 2024). Reception of War."
"According to the results of our research, during two years of full-scale invasion in Ukraine, 131 public libraries have been completely destroyed. Another 746 libraries have suffered various degrees of damage and require major repairs. This would require at least 100 million hryvnias, according to preliminary estimates," she said.
According to her, 156 libraries have been restored in Ukraine so far. She also mentioned that when libraries are destroyed, their premises are converted into village councils, churches, modular buildings, and so on.
"415 libraries have lost part of their collections. Throughout 2022-2023, not a single publication has been preserved in 134 public libraries. We have compared the data in the electronic monitoring system - currently, the losses of library collections amount to more than 1.5 million publications," said Valentyna Zdanovska.
The National Library of Ukraine named after Yaroslav the Wise has been conducting research on "Public Libraries of Ukraine in the Conditions of Russian Armed Aggression" since March 2022. The research is being carried out jointly with regional libraries.
