ISTANBUL

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday signed a bill banning the import and distribution of books from Russia and Belarus. 

Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram that he considered the bill, which also bans the commercial import of books printed in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territory, to be “correct."

He added that its text was sent to EU institutions for an additional assessment of whether certain provisions of the law infringed on minority and linguistic rights.

The bill was adopted by Ukraine's parliament, also known as the Verkhovna Rada, a year ago.

Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko tweeted that the adoption of this draft law will “protect the Ukrainian cultural space from the 'Russian world'.”​​​​​​​