Information for members on Ukraine crisis
In response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the Publishers Association is seeking to provide members with an update on the UK and international responses to the situation, including the latest sanctions imposed by UK and global governments.
The Publishers Association will be seeking guidance and information from the UK government and international associations, to assist members with handling the crisis. We welcome feedback and queries from members, as we will be communicating any industry intelligence and questions to government officials to help them understand the impact on your businesses and staff.
We appreciate that many members are also keen to offer their support to those affected. We have outlined some initial thinking below in this regard, and will communicate with members as this evolves.
Publishers Association Activity
The Publishers Association is in contact with UK government departments to obtain the latest information and to provide feedback on how the crisis is impacting publishing.
The government’s advice is that if you’re a UK business trading with Ukraine or Russia and have questions about the current trading situation, to contact the UK government’s export support team by phone or online here: Export Support Service – use the dedicated online service or call 0300 303 8955.
We have also received a number of requests from members asking how they can support people affected by the conflict in Ukraine. While it is, of course, up to individuals to decide what is appropriate you may want to consider the following:
- Donating to charitable causes that directly supporting refugees – UNICEF, UNHCR, the Red Cross and the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine Appeal.
- We are seeking advice from relevant charities about whether there is a need to provide access to books and educational materials for those impacted by the crisis. When we have more details on this they will be published on our website.
If you have any feedback or questions about any aspect of our work, please send them to dconway@publishers.org.uk or liaise with your relevant PA contact.
Latest UK and International Sanctions
Following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, the UK and the international community have been coordinating on a wide range of sanctions against Russia and related countries. Below are links to information on the latest sanctions:
The UK government has so far announced sanctions including:
- the freezing of assets from all of Russia’s major banks
- targeted sanctions on Russian individuals
- export controls on hi-tech and dual-use good/services
- a ban on all Aeroflot flights in UK air space – which has led to Russia applying reciprocal restrictions on British airlines
- a ban on all Russian ships from UK ports
- a ban on finance and trade with the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk similar to that already in place for the region of Crimea
- denying Russia and Belarus access to ‘Most Favoured Nation’ tariff treatment for key imports, including paper and paperboard, equating to additional 35% on current rates
- the suspension of UK public research funding and collaboration on projects with a Russian dimension
For the latest consolidated list of UK sanctions visit ‘UK Sanctions against Russia’ and ‘The UK Sanctions List’.
In addition:
- the FCDO now advises against all travel to Russia, and Ukraine and Belarus.
- the Home Office has published guidance on ‘support for family members of British nationals in Ukraine, and Ukrainian nationals in Ukraine and the UK’.
The EU has set out a similar range of sanctions, targeted at Russia’s economy and key individuals.
The EU Council has published a list of ‘EU sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine’.
The European Commission has published a webpage in ‘Solidarity with Ukraine’.
The US government’s latest sanctions can be viewed via the US Department of the Treasury’s ‘Sanctions List Updates.’
UK Government Support and Contacts
Below are links and contact details where members can obtain additional information.
- The Business Partnership team at the Cabinet Office – BusinessPartnerships@CabinetOffice.gov.uk – on sanctions and impact of these on UK businesses.
- National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – enquiries@ncsc.gov.uk – for guidance and support on cyber security and resilience.
- Embassy support for British Nationals in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus, refer to the linked embassy pages for more information – Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
Cyber Security
In response to the events in Ukraine, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published information to help businesses to ‘improve their cyber resilience’ during periods of heightened threat. The NCSC has prepared resources for large organisations, SMEs and microbusinesses. Members may also wish to consider adopting Cyber Essentials at the NCSC’s recommendation.
If you have any questions, please contact enquiries@ncsc.gov.uk who will be happy to assist.
Further sources of advice
New UK, EU and US sanctions on Russia | Fieldfisher
Industry statements
We support the following statements made by our international publishing organisations:
Industry initiatives
National Literary Trust: Welcome Reading Packs for refugee children
The NLT have good links (through their Literacy Hubs and community projects) with the UK refugee distribution networks and the cities and towns who are selected to take the majority of refugees (Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Nottingham, Glasgow).
They will be using their teams on the ground to work with local authority services and community and voluntary organisations to provide newly arrived Ukraine families with a Welcome Reading Pack for their children.
They want to include Ukrainian and English titles. Although we do not yet know the scale of Ukrainian refugees that the UK will finally accept, NLT are working with partners on the ground to scope the demand in each community and will move quickly to equip local migrant and refugee charities with Welcome Reading Packs
The NLT therefore want to sign up potential publisher supporters who are willing to donate titles now, to ensure a speedy response.
If you are a publisher interested in supporting this initiative through children’s book donations, please contact Lauren.nightingale@literacytrust.org.uk at the National Literacy Trust before the 31st March detailing the book titles that you have in mind and a sense of the quantity of books you are able to provide.
We amplified Ukrainian authors’, illustrators’ and creators’ work on our Twitter account