Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, well over 600 public libraries and 2,000 school libraries have been damaged or destroyed by Russian troops. In 2024 a Russian missile wiped out the country's main book printer, Factor Druk in Kharkiv. Millions of Ukrainian books have been burned, with literary works by Ukrainian writers and textbooks on Ukrainian history particularly targeted.

Our partnership with the Library Country Ukraine Charitable Foundation, which was established in 2022, allows the UK library community to provide practical support to libraries in Ukraine.

Our first joint initiative was a crowdfunding campaign that raised over £10,000 to purchase and deliver a mobile library stocked with 500 children’s books donated by BookTrust. The mobile unit was driven across Europe by UK library staff and handed over to Ukrainian partners in September 2024. It now serves communities in the east of the country where libraries have been destroyed.

The partnership has also led to a twinning scheme between UK and Ukrainian libraries. More than 20 UK library services are now paired with Ukrainian counterparts, enabling them to exchange skills, develop joint initiatives and celebrate their shared literary heritage.

Full list of twinned libraries

• Ely / Cambridge and Sambir
• Barbican / London and Desnyansk / Kyiv
• Doncaster and Berdychiv
• Kent and Kotsiubinsky / Chernihiv
• Camden and Solomiansky / Kyiv
• Greenwich and Kyiv Central Library for Children
• Hackney and Obolon / Kyiv
• Lewisham and Lviv Municipal
• Manchester and Lviv Regional Youth Library
• Marjon and Poltava and Balti
• Medway and Sumy
• Middlesborough and Dnipro
• North Northamptonshire and Konotop
• North Somerset and Kharkiv
• North Yorkshire and Volodymyr Public Library
• Hexham and Feodosia Community
• Sprotbrough and Shatsk
• St Helens and Zhytomyr
• Staffordshire and Zvyagel
• Warrington and Chortkiv
• West Northamptonshire and Poltava