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Ukraine wartime romance novel ditched after backlash

By AAP Newswire

Oct 18, 2026

Ukrainian woman wearing the National costume lays flowers — The novel depicted a secret wartime romance between a Ukrainian woman and a Russian soldier. -EPA

A German publishing house has cancelled the publication of a fictional love story between a Ukrainian woman and a Russian soldier, after criticism that the novel romanticises the war.

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The head of Molino publishing house Matthias Slunitschek, said on Friday he had decided, at the author's request and after a flood of critical comments, not to publish the novel Who I Am When You See Me.

Slunitschek said one person had sent a message questioning how sensitively the publisher had handled Ukrainian experiences and what approach it took to depicting the war, given how the story was being marketed.

Portraying a Russian soldier as a rescuer and romantic partner of a Ukrainian civilian in occupied Kherson risks romanticising the reality of military occupation, violence and suffering faced by Ukraine's civilian population, the message said.

"The author's idea was that two people meet and that the human encounter rises above the external circumstances," Slunitschek said.

"It is actually a novel that promotes humanity and peace and is against the war."

The book's blurb reads: "As Russian troops occupy the city, Ukrainian civilian Lyusiya loses almost everything that has defined her life so far. After an explosion, a masked Russian soldier rescues her. They soon develop a secret and intense relationship. The closer Lyusiya gets to the man behind the mask, the clearer it becomes that love can neither dissolve violence nor guilt."

Juna Liebrecht, the author of the book, told dpa she wanted to apologise if people felt attacked or hurt. She said she had not wanted to offend anyone or romanticise the war.

The book had been scheduled for release on November 1.