Ukrainian morale suffers as troop favourite Warhammer stops translating novels

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Ukrainian morale suffers as troop favourite Warhammer stops translating novels Soldiers may be forced to rely on Russian versions of fantasy books associated with British fantasy game

Gift this article free A soldier covers his ears, as the dusty earth at his feet jumps from the shockwave as a howitzer is fired Ukrainian troops last week, three and a half years after Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion Credit: Maksym Kishka/Reuters James Rothwell Berlin Correspondent 25 August 2025 10:45am BST Games Workshop, the creator of Warhammer 40,000, has been branded “W---er’s Workshop” by Ukrainian troops after it stopped translations into Ukrainian.

Over the summer, the British firm behind the fantasy tabletop game cancelled a publishing deal with Molfar Comics, a Kyiv publishing house.

Molfar had been producing Ukrainian translations of novels set in the game’s so-called “grimdark” space universe.

The decision has bitterly disappointed Ukrainian soldiers who, perhaps surprisingly, rely on Warhammer games and books as distraction from the horrors of Vladimir Putin’s genocidal invasion.

A Ukrainian special forces sergeant told The Telegraph that the loss of new Warhammer novels in Ukrainian was a blow to morale.

The cover of the novel shows a soldier in heavy armour A Warhammer novel translated into Ukrainian. Fans previously relied on Russian-language versions, many bootlegged Access to Ukrainian translations was more important than ever, he said, because soldiers should not have to rely on bootleg translations in Russian, the language of their enemy.

“Warhammer 40,000 holds a secret spot in my heart, as well as thousands of Ukrainian soldiers from all the branches and services of the defence forces of Ukraine,” said the sergeant, who can be identified only by his call sign “Shekel” for security reasons.

Warhammer 40,000, often known simply as Warhammer, was designed in the late 1980s in London. Hobbyists paint miniature soldiers, tanks and aliens, and play games on tabletops with them.

A room full of men bending over to play with metal figures on ranks of tables Gamers at a Warhammer international tournament in Northampton in 2022. Games Workshop is a British success story Credit: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Games Workshop has also published some 400 novels set in the hobby’s universe to flesh out the back stories of the various armies involved.

Set in a nihilistic far future where mankind has been plunged into an eternal state of war, Warhammer is a significant British success story: Games Workshop overtook Marks & Spencer in retail value in 2020.

The hobby counts Henry Cavill, the British actor, and James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, among its fans. Recently, however, it has been caught in a tug of war between Russians and Ukrainians.

Ian Livingstone

The British nerd who created a £2bn empire from orcs and goblins Read more Shekel said his troops were delighted when Games Workshop started issuing Ukrainian translations via Molfar, as they had previously been forced to rely on Russian-language rule books and novels.

He said: “Every Warhammer fan in Ukraine, both military and civilian, was really happy when the first Warhammer books were published in Ukrainian.

“Revoking the Ukrainian language licence... and the ongoing involvement of Games Workshop with Russian companies in general is frustrating for the Ukrainian military Warhammer community.

“Unfortunately, Warhammer media in Ukraine had long ties with Russia: the only way for the community back then was to consume lore in Russian or English. In most cases, of course, it was Russian pirate translations.

“Games Workshop proved once again that a long-standing nickname within the Ukrainian Warhammer community is well earned.”

Shekel cited the Ukrainian nickname, which is broadly equivalent to “W---er’s Workshop” in English.

‘Our native language is important’ Molfar Comics said the decision was a blow to soldiers’ morale. Oleksandr Nevskiy, its co-owner, told The Telegraph: “At a time when Ukraine is at war and we are fighting for our right to exist, having global products available in our native language plays an incredibly important role.

“These works are vital for the morale of our people, especially our soldiers – many of whom are our readers. We have repeatedly received photos of soldiers reading Warhammer books in trenches or in hospital beds.”

The metal figure holds an outsized gun and sword A Warhammer figure of the sort painted by hobbyists including James Cleverly, the former Tory foreign secretary Credit: Pete Jenkins/Alamy Games Workshop has been criticised for ties to Russian companies, such as the Cyprus-based Russian studio Owlcat, which produces video games set in the Warhammer universe.

The hobby maker said it suspended sales of Warhammer products to Russia in March 2022, in protest at Vladimir Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Warhammer continues to be popular in Russia despite this, with some Russian soldiers bringing Warhammer-inspired “purity seals” to the battlefield as good luck charms.

Playing a wargame about genocidal fascist super-soldiers and bloodthirsty aliens might seem a strange pastime for Ukrainian soldiers, who have enough war to deal with in their real lives.

But veterans’ charities said that painting the miniatures and using them to wage fantasy battles on a tabletop could be therapeutic, especially after a soldier ended their service.

There is some evidence that Warhammer may help veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Steve Guziec, a US Army chaplain and trauma therapist.

The troops walk through a forest wearing elaborate camouflage Not fantasy but reality: Ukrainian troops in Zaporizhzhia on Monday Credit: Euromaidan/Facebook George Chewning, the head of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge, a non-profit veterans’ charity, said: “Tabletop games represent a great opportunity for veterans to build community with each other outside of the normal support channels.

“We need to meet veterans where they are to share resources and help build resilience. Organic relationships that spring from these activities break down isolating barriers and help veterans feel connected.”

The Telegraph approached Games Workshop for comment but did not receive a response.

In a statement on social media, the firm’s Warhammer team said: “We’ve sold Warhammer miniatures into Ukraine for years, and plan to do so for many more.”

“Recently we chose not to renew our contract with a Ukrainian publisher, who had previously been responsible for localising Black Library [Warhammer’s in-house publisher] novels.

“We won’t discuss why. That wouldn’t be right. What we will say is we thought long and hard about it, and it was done for good reason.”

17 comments

Finally a job for AI we can all agree on, time to translate and pirate print some paperbacks and .epubs .
- Translation could be considered a form of art, why do we care about artists and writers, but not translators? Takes a really good one to leave puns and jokes intact.
  
  Because we are trying to do this for free, paying no one, in fact pirating the content for the purpose of keeping the Ukrainian troops motivated. Theres no money or job to steal here.
Get your shit together GW
- I did select all...
  Jump to content Log in See all News
  Ukrainian morale suffers as troop favourite Warhammer stops translating novels Soldiers may be forced to rely on Russian versions of fantasy books associated with British fantasy game
  75
  Gift this article free A soldier covers his ears, as the dusty earth at his feet jumps from the shockwave as a howitzer is fired Ukrainian troops last week, three and a half years after Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion Credit: Maksym Kishka/Reuters James Rothwell Berlin Correspondent 25 August 2025 10:45am BST Games Workshop, the creator of Warhammer 40,000, has been branded “W---er’s Workshop” by Ukrainian troops after it stopped translations into Ukrainian.
  Over the summer, the British firm behind the fantasy tabletop game cancelled a publishing deal with Molfar Comics, a Kyiv publishing house.
  Molfar had been producing Ukrainian translations of novels set in the game’s so-called “grimdark” space universe.
  The decision has bitterly disappointed Ukrainian soldiers who, perhaps surprisingly, rely on Warhammer games and books as distraction from the horrors of Vladimir Putin’s genocidal invasion.
  A Ukrainian special forces sergeant told The Telegraph that the loss of new Warhammer novels in Ukrainian was a blow to morale.
  The cover of the novel shows a soldier in heavy armour A Warhammer novel translated into Ukrainian. Fans previously relied on Russian-language versions, many bootlegged Access to Ukrainian translations was more important than ever, he said, because soldiers should not have to rely on bootleg translations in Russian, the language of their enemy.
  “Warhammer 40,000 holds a secret spot in my heart, as well as thousands of Ukrainian soldiers from all the branches and services of the defence forces of Ukraine,” said the sergeant, who can be identified only by his call sign “Shekel” for security reasons.
  Warhammer 40,000, often known simply as Warhammer, was designed in the late 1980s in London. Hobbyists paint miniature soldiers, tanks and aliens, and play games on tabletops with them.
  A room full of men bending over to play with metal figures on ranks of tables Gamers at a Warhammer international tournament in Northampton in 2022. Games Workshop is a British success story Credit: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Games Workshop has also published some 400 novels set in the hobby’s universe to flesh out the back stories of the various armies involved.
  Set in a nihilistic far future where mankind has been plunged into an eternal state of war, Warhammer is a significant British success story: Games Workshop overtook Marks & Spencer in retail value in 2020.
  The hobby counts Henry Cavill, the British actor, and James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, among its fans. Recently, however, it has been caught in a tug of war between Russians and Ukrainians.
  Ian Livingstone
  The British nerd who created a £2bn empire from orcs and goblins Read more Shekel said his troops were delighted when Games Workshop started issuing Ukrainian translations via Molfar, as they had previously been forced to rely on Russian-language rule books and novels.
  He said: “Every Warhammer fan in Ukraine, both military and civilian, was really happy when the first Warhammer books were published in Ukrainian.
  “Revoking the Ukrainian language licence... and the ongoing involvement of Games Workshop with Russian companies in general is frustrating for the Ukrainian military Warhammer community.
  “Unfortunately, Warhammer media in Ukraine had long ties with Russia: the only way for the community back then was to consume lore in Russian or English. In most cases, of course, it was Russian pirate translations.
  “Games Workshop proved once again that a long-standing nickname within the Ukrainian Warhammer community is well earned.”
  Shekel cited the Ukrainian nickname, which is broadly equivalent to “W---er’s Workshop” in English.
  ‘Our native language is important’ Molfar Comics said the decision was a blow to soldiers’ morale. Oleksandr Nevskiy, its co-owner, told The Telegraph: “At a time when Ukraine is at war and we are fighting for our right to exist, having global products available in our native language plays an incredibly important role.
  “These works are vital for the morale of our people, especially our soldiers – many of whom are our readers. We have repeatedly received photos of soldiers reading Warhammer books in trenches or in hospital beds.”
  The metal figure holds an outsized gun and sword A Warhammer figure of the sort painted by hobbyists including James Cleverly, the former Tory foreign secretary Credit: Pete Jenkins/Alamy Games Workshop has been criticised for ties to Russian companies, such as the Cyprus-based Russian studio Owlcat, which produces video games set in the Warhammer universe.
  The hobby maker said it suspended sales of Warhammer products to Russia in March 2022, in protest at Vladimir Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
  Warhammer continues to be popular in Russia despite this, with some Russian soldiers bringing Warhammer-inspired “purity seals” to the battlefield as good luck charms.
  Playing a wargame about genocidal fascist super-soldiers and bloodthirsty aliens might seem a strange pastime for Ukrainian soldiers, who have enough war to deal with in their real lives.
  But veterans’ charities said that painting the miniatures and using them to wage fantasy battles on a tabletop could be therapeutic, especially after a soldier ended their service.
  There is some evidence that Warhammer may help veterans recover from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to Steve Guziec, a US Army chaplain and trauma therapist.
  The troops walk through a forest wearing elaborate camouflage Not fantasy but reality: Ukrainian troops in Zaporizhzhia on Monday Credit: Euromaidan/Facebook George Chewning, the head of the US-Ukraine Veterans Bridge, a non-profit veterans’ charity, said: “Tabletop games represent a great opportunity for veterans to build community with each other outside of the normal support channels.
  “We need to meet veterans where they are to share resources and help build resilience. Organic relationships that spring from these activities break down isolating barriers and help veterans feel connected.”
  The Telegraph approached Games Workshop for comment but did not receive a response.
  In a statement on social media, the firm’s Warhammer team said: “We’ve sold Warhammer miniatures into Ukraine for years, and plan to do so for many more.”
  “Recently we chose not to renew our contract with a Ukrainian publisher, who had previously been responsible for localising Black Library [Warhammer’s in-house publisher] novels.
  “We won’t discuss why. That wouldn’t be right. What we will say is we thought long and hard about it, and it was done for good reason.”
- https://archive.ph/GiGGB :)
  
  I wonder why it thinks I understand this language, but I guess I have to select the cars
“W---er’s Workshop”
Worker's? Winner's? Whiner's? Wilber's?
- That's definitely Wanker's Workshop. Clearly they really have been reading a lot of British material
  
  The translation was done by the (British) publication. The name they use is in Ukrainian.