Russia has burned 13 million Ukrainian books in three months, nearly third of everything country printed in 2025

In just three months, Russia has destroyed approximately 13 million Ukrainian books, representing nearly one-third of all the books printed in the country throughout 2025, according to the Ukrainian Publishing Association. The Ukrainian Publishing Association has requested a meeting with the National Security and Defense Council to address the dire situation of the publishing industry, which is fighting to survive.

The industry, valued at roughly the revenue of a single mid-sized shopping mall, is already small and vulnerable, with a total floor space of all brick-and-mortar bookstores in Ukraine barely exceeding the area of six football fields. Russian attacks have repeatedly targeted Ukraine's printing capacity, with strikes on printing houses in Kharkiv and other Ukrainian cities, destroying millions of books and causing significant financial losses.

The Ukrainian Publishing Association estimates direct losses to the industry at at least $29 million, though they believe the real figure is higher. The attacks have affected both retailers and publishers, damaging book markets, bookstores, and warehouses, and causing extensive damage to publishers such as Nash Format, Laboratoria, and BookChef.

The sector is in dire need of support, as the current war-risk compensation program only covers real estate and not goods in circulation or finished products. The association is calling for war-risk insurance to be extended to book stocks, affordable loans to rebuild printing capacity, and a return of state purchasing of books for libraries, which was suspended in 2022.

With only $627,000 allocated for 2026 to fund up to 75 books, and libraries in only about 21% of communities being refreshed annually, the future of Ukrainian publishing and the support for Ukrainian authors and identity is at risk.