IvAlive Foundation brings Ukrainian books destroyed by Russian attacks to an international festival in Switzerland

For the third time, the IvAlive Foundation took part in Le Livre sur les Quais, a major literary festival in French-speaking Switzerland held every year in Morges. Last year, almost 40,000 people attended the three-day event.

At the festival, IvAlive Foundation presented books from Ukrainian publishers in a wide range of genres, as well as books by Ukrainian authors and books about Ukraine translated into English and French. Every year, hundreds of Ukrainians visit the foundation’s stand looking for books in their native language. The stand also attracts international visitors interested in Ukrainian culture.

This year, IvAlive also presented a unique installation featuring books that had been burned in a Russian attack. The books were provided for the foundation’s project by Ranok, one of Ukraine’s largest publishing houses.

On 1 August 2026, a Russian attack in Kharkiv destroyed a warehouse belonging to Ranok publishing house and the KnygoLand bookstore, which are part of the same publishing corporation. The attack caused a fire that could not be put out for a week. During that time, 8 million books were burned at this location alone, which covered almost 10,000 square metres. More than 600,000 of these were textbooks that were ready to be sent to Ukrainian schools.

In total, during the summer of 2026 alone, 21 Russian attacks on Ukraine’s publishing industry and book storage facilities were recorded, destroying more than 10 million books.

IvAlive used its participation in this international event as an opportunity to remind the world once again that Russia is attacking not only infrastructure, civilians and homes, but also Ukrainian culture.

“This installation left neither Ukrainians nor international visitors indifferent. It caught people’s attention: they would stop and look at it. It particularly touched international visitors, because for them, these charred books are a real artifact of war. For us, it was an opportunity to show the international community the crimes committed by Russia and explain their impact on Ukrainians. Swiss visitors were shocked by the number of books destroyed and publishing houses affected. They looked at the burned children’s books with deep distress and expressed their support for our country,” says Ivanna Onufriichuk, founder of IvAlive.

Books can be destroyed, but Ukrainian culture cannot. This was the message behind IvAlive Foundation’s installation in Switzerland. The foundation calls on Ukrainians in Ukraine and abroad to support Ukrainian publishers, buy Ukrainian books and help spread information about the consequences of Russian attacks on Ukraine.

“For Ukraine’s publishing industry, this summer has been one of the toughest challenges since the beginning of the full-scale war. The attacks on publishing houses and book storage facilities, together with the number of books destroyed, point to a systematic campaign. That is why every such exhibition abroad matters: it turns statistics into a powerful image that people remember and that encourages them to act. We thank the Swiss public for caring and call on the international community to support Ukrainian publishers, because books help Ukrainian culture continue to live despite the attacks,” says Viktor Kruglov, CEO of Ranok publishing house and a leading expert in Ukraine’s publishing industry.