Ukraine had withdrawn from its libraries about 19 million copies of books by last November that came either from the Soviet era or were in Russian, a senior lawmaker said on Monday (6 February). In mid-2022 Ukraine restricted the distribution of Russian books, seeking to further sever cultural ties between the two neighbours and undo policies that Kyiv authorities say have suppressed Ukrainian identity for centuries. And it is still very widely spoken in many cities, including Kyiv, although the use of Russian has been increasingly restricted