Russian Strikes Destroy 10 Million Books in Ukraine

The Ukrainian Book Institute is calling for international support to prevent the collapse of the national publishing industry following a series of Russian attacks in July and August. These strikes destroyed approximately 10 million books, representing roughly 30% of Ukraine's annual book production volume. Preliminary financial losses are estimated at nearly 1 billion hryvnias.

A major strike on August 1 targeted the RNK-Ranok publishing group's warehouses in Kharkiv, destroying 8 million books. Earlier attacks in July caused the loss of over 1.5 million books in Kyiv, including 600,000 school textbooks. The destruction continued on August 16, when a Russian attack sparked a fire at the Pochaina book market in Kyiv.

While the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is developing compensation programs and grants for affected printing companies and publishers, the Ukrainian Book Institute warns that state assistance is insufficient to cover the total losses. Director Oleksandra Koval stated that the country faces the risk of the collapse of the entire book ecosystem. Deputy Director Olena Odynoka framed the survival of the industry as a matter of defending Ukraine's right to shape its own narrative in the world.