Urgent contribution: US to provide funds for printing children's books in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the US will provide funding for the printing of children’s books and school textbooks.

Source: President Zelenskyy’s video address on 24 June

Quote from Zelenskyy: "I also want to thank the United States today for a new decision that will support the people of Ukraine. This timely humanitarian decision involves US funding for the urgent printing of children’s books in Ukraine."

Details: Zelenskyy said that the US funding will enable three million books to be printed, including textbooks that will be printed ahead of the new school year.

Ukrainian publisher Chytomo said that the US White House has officially announced this funding decision. As part of the announcement, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the textbooks will be delivered to more than 12,000 schools across the country. Sullivan’s statement makes it clear that this funding decision was made in part in response to Russia’s attack on the Faktor-Druk printing house in Kharkiv.

Background:

• A Russian missile strike on the Faktor-Druk printing house in Kharkiv on 23 May destroyed 50,000 books, and put Ukraine’s publishing capacity at risk of being reduced by almost 40%. Following the attack, Ukrainians began offering support to the publishers that had printed in this printing house: fundraising, buying books, and sharing information about the destruction.
• The destroyed books were later presented during the Book Arsenal book fair. During a Book Arsenal panel discussion, it was reported that American billionaire Howard Buffett and his foundation would help restore the printing facilities of the destroyed printing house in Kharkiv and provide grants for Ukrainian publishers and printing houses.

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