Thousands of papers, manuscripts and historical documents stored in Ukraine's state archives and libraries will be saved from destruction due to the Russian invasion. This will be done by an Italian company, CSA Documents, a leader in the archival and digitization industry that has offered free help to the government of Kyjiv

CSA Documents Chairman of the Board Gian Marco Di Domenico responded to the appeal of Ukrainian State Archives Director General Anatolii Khromov, by sending a letter to Ukrainian Ambassador to Italy Yaroslav Melink: "We would be honored to offer our expertise free of charge to the General Directorate of Ukrainian State Archives, it would be our way of making a contribution to the heroic resistance of your people," the missive reads.

So far, the Russians have destroyed more than 300 Ukrainian state and university libraries and stolen more than half of the paper and audiovisual materials. As Khromov told Repubblica, so far more than 12,000 KGB documents on the Soviet regime's repression of Ukrainians in the 20th century have been lost.

"Saving an archive means saving the memory of a country and an important segment of its security," said Head of External and Institutional Relations Nicola Ucciero, "which is why once we read the request for cooperation that the Kyjiv government launched, we responded promptly and made ourselves available. We believe that helping the Ukrainian cause also passes through these concrete and pragmatic actions."