Ukrainian Publishers Call For Support After Russian Attacks Destroy 10 Million Books

Russian assaults on Ukrainian publishing facilities in July and August led to the destruction of approximately 10 million books, which represents about one-third of Ukraine's annual book production. The Ukrainian Book Institute warns of a possible collapse of the entire book industry and is seeking international financial and industry assistance to aid publishers, printers, and distributors in their recovery efforts.

According to The Guardian, a major attack on August 1 at warehouses of the RNK-Ranok publishing group in Kharkiv destroyed around 8 million books, following the July attacks in Kyiv that resulted in the loss of more than 1.5 million books. In total, the recent attacks have caused the destruction of roughly 30% of the volume of books produced annually in Ukraine.

The RNK-Ranok logistics center, which stores books for the company's various imprints and serves as the distribution center for the national bookstore chain KnyhoLand, which operates 51 shops and several websites, also suffered losses, with an estimated 600,000 school textbooks destroyed. The total estimated loss amounts to nearly 1 billion hryvnias (16.5 million euros).

Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, states that the country faces the risk of the collapse of the entire book ecosystem at this point. The institute is requesting donations to support Ukrainian publishers and urging the international publishing community to collaborate with Ukrainian publishers, raise awareness about Russian attacks on Ukrainian culture.

On August 16, a Russian attack on Kyiv caused a fire at the Pochaina book market, destroying several rows of stalls, books, and vendors' property. Founded in 1997, the Pochaina market was once one of Ukraine's largest book markets, featuring hundreds of stalls and books from over 120 publishers. The Ukrainian Book Institute emphasizes the strategic importance of the book industry to Ukraine, as it preserves and promotes Ukrainian culture and provides the country's voice a platform both domestically and internationally.

The institute also calls for an end to cooperation with Russian publishers and literary agencies, asserting that solidarity with Ukrainian publishers is essential to preserving cultural heritage that Russia is deliberately seeking to destroy.