The Croatian Ministry of Culture and Media has launched a humanitarian campaign to buy up books from Ukrainian publishers and distribute them to public libraries across Croatia.

The campaign, conducted by the AidHub Foundation, was presented on Tuesday by the Minister of Culture and Media, Nina Obuljen-Korzinek, and the Ukrainian Ambassador in Croatia, Vasyl Kyrylych.

Obuljen-Korzinek said she had recommended this method of book procurement to her European counterparts as a way of helping Ukrainian publishers as well as Ukrainian refugees. “In this first round, we have ensured books for more than 200 libraries,” she added.

The minister noted that Croatia still remembers the horrors of its war of independence and that Ukraine is now going through what Croatia experienced 30 years ago.

“That’s why the Ministry of Culture has made available its protocols for the protection and evacuation of heritage objects to our Ukrainian colleagues who are in charge of cultural heritage protection. We sent an aid contingent and were in touch with the Ukrainian Embassy and the Civil Protection Authority regarding the accommodation and care of refugees,” Obuljen-Korzinek said.

Ambassador Kyrylych thanked Minister Obuljen-Korzinek and the Croatian government for their support for Ukraine and care for Ukrainian refugees in Croatia.