The State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine urges Ukrposhta, Nova Poshta, Meest, DHL, FedEx, and UPS to comply with Ukrainian legislation prohibiting the mailing of book publications associated with Russia, Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territories from abroad.
"In connection with the increasing number of inquiries regarding the possibility of mailing printed book products in the Russian language in international postal items, the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine reminds all interested parties, primarily international postal service providers, of the need to strictly comply with the requirements of Article 28-1 of the Law 'On Publishing'. This article establishes restrictions on the importation into Ukraine and distribution on its territory of book publications associated with the aggressor state, the Republic of Belarus, and the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine," the statement of the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting reads.
It is noted that current legislation does not provide for the possibility of mailing in international postal items book publications that: originate from, are produced, or published in Russia, Belarus, or in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; contain works by authors who are or were citizens of Russia at any period after 1991 (with the exception of authors who subsequently became citizens of Ukraine and renounced Russian citizenship, as well as book publications published in Ukraine before January 1, 2023); are published in the Russian language and imported into the customs territory of Ukraine from any country in the world.
Thus, to prevent the importation of prohibited book publications into Ukraine, the State Committee for Television and Radio Broadcasting officially appealed to leading national postal operators (Ukrposhta, Nova Poshta, Meest Poshta) and global express carriers (DHL, FedEx, UPS) requesting to ensure unconditional compliance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation in the publishing sector.
"We call on all publishing entities and postal operators to work exclusively within the legal framework of Ukraine," the department emphasized.
As reported, on August 28, a petition on the website of the Cabinet of Ministers calling for restrictions on the printing, distribution, and promotion of Russian-language printed and electronic book products in Ukraine gathered the required number of signatures for consideration.
State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska, commenting on the petition during the signature collection stage, stated that the distribution of Russian-language book products during wartime is a challenge to cultural security, but prohibiting distribution would violate the Constitution of Ukraine. Commenting on another proposal of the petition regarding limiting the importation of products in the Russian language into Ukraine to no more than one copy per person, Ivanovska stated that she does not believe the state should enter so deeply into a person's personal space.
