Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada Sunday adopted two laws restricting the flow of Russian media into the country. The first law (N 7459) prohibits the importation of books from Russia, Belarus, and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory, and the second bill (N7273-d) bans Russian music from being played in public.

The first law intends to protect Ukrainian culture and abrogate Russia’s influence on the Ukrainian publishing sector. It further stipulates that from 1 January 2023 books must be published within Ukrainian territory and must use either the Ukrainian language, an indigenous Ukrainian language or one of the European Union’s official languages.

The second law redefines the significance of Ukrainian music and also introduces initiatives to support the national music. The law bans the performance of music from artists who have been Russian citizens since 1991 unless the artist has publicly contemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

These two laws were introduced along with 13 other laws, 3 resolutions, and two bills.