The Kherson Science Library, one of the largest in southern Ukraine, is one of the about 220 destroyed by the Russian invasion after being attacked in early November, while millions of Ukrainian books are being eliminated and replaced by others in Russian in the occupied zoneaccording to authorities and several witnesses.
“We are heartbroken, but many of you have sent us hundreds of messages of support during this time,” the Library administration last Wednesday and thanked everyone for “the strength and inspiration even in difficult times.”
The building that housed it, clearly visible to the Russian forces stationed on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River, was hit by Russian artillery last Sunday, which sparked a fire that consumed part of the books.
Although the most valuable works, hidden in advance, remained unscathed, the attack caused dismay in Ukraine and a wave of support for the city of Kherson, which just a day earlier had celebrated the anniversary of its liberation.
“The enemy kills the word, the thought, our language and our libraries,” wrote Oleksandr Krasovytskyi, CEO of “Folio”, one of the largest Ukrainian publishing houses, and spoke of a “cultural genocide.”