Olena Zelenska in Harvard/Telegram
The First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska visited Harvard University in the USA and handed over copies of Vivat publishing house books mutilated as a result of the Russian attack to the university library.
This is reported in the official Telegram channels of Olena Zelenska.
The First Lady of Ukraine visited Harvard University in the United States and thanked the institution for its support of Ukraine, in particular, Serhii Plokhi, a graduate of Dnipro University, “whose books have been carrying out an important mission of decolonization and returning our history to us for many years.”
And to the institution's library, which is famous for its Ukrainian collection, I have the honor of handing over special books – burned by the Russian attack on the Kharkiv printing house of the Vivat publishing house. On that tragic day, seven workers died in the printing house, and 150,000 textbooks burned in the fire caused by the explosion. The few copies that were found, we want to keep as a memory. And as evidence of what Russia is doing to us, Zelenska emphasized.
She noted that spreading knowledge about Ukraine in the world, about our history, culture is an important form of resistance to the aggressor.
Damaged books from the “Faktor-Druk” printing house/Olena Zelenska
The First Lady reminded that it was Harvard that started Ukrainian studios in the United States.
This became possible thanks to two Ukrainian emigrant scientists – Ihor Shevchenko and Omelyan Pritsak, who had the idea of creating a Ukrainian research institution in the United States back in 1957. It was a visionary and bold step – to tell the world the truth about the country, which was enslaved by the Soviet totalitarian empire at that time. This is how the Ukrainian Research Institute of Harvard University (Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute – HURI) was born, – shared Zelenska.
She added that this summer in Washington, together with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the President's Fund for Education Support , science and sports, the Ukrainian Institute and the office of the Crimean Platform launched a large-scale initiative – the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies. png” alt=”Olena Zelenska handed over burnt Ukrainian books to the library of Harvard University” />
Olena Zelenska/Telegram
A blow to the printing house in Kharkiv:
On Thursday, May 23, Russia launched a missile hit Kharkov, hitting one of the largest printing houses in Europe, “Faktor-druk”, where books of almost all Ukrainian publishing houses are printed. As a result of this strike, 7 people died, 21 more were injured. According to Olena Zelenska, 150,000 textbooks were burned.