Vivat Loses 35,500 Books to Russian Strike, Damage Tops $370,000
A Russian strike on a warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv region, destroyed more than 35,500 books belonging to publisher Vivat, worth over Hr 16.6 million ($372,800), the company told Kyiv Post. Vivat is also tallying losses from strikes on partner distributors and said some shipments remain paused as a result.
Ukrainian publishing house Vivat suffered extensive damage to its inventory after a Russian strike on a warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, located in the Kyiv region, on August 28th. According to the company's press service, over 35,500 books, valued at more than Hr 16.6 million ($372,800), were destroyed in the attack. Vivat is one of Ukraine's three largest publishing houses and operates four bookstores, according to the information they provided to the Kyiv Post.
The company's full inventory is still being assessed, and they have not yet determined the exact number of titles and copies lost. Vivat was established in 2013 and sells approximately 2.5 million books annually, releasing around 300 new titles each year. Their offerings span three main categories: children's literature, fiction, and non-fiction.
The company operates its own bookstore network across several cities in Ukraine and maintains an online store with over 20,000 titles. The warehouse affected by the strike contained books intended for further sales and shipments. The losses consist of various editions, but Vivat has not disclosed specific titles or discussed print runs they consider entirely destroyed until they finalize their inventory count.
The company is also evaluating the damage caused by strikes on partner warehouses and retail locations, including those of Readeat, Book.ua, the book market at Pochaina, and shopping malls. Some of Vivat's shipments have been delayed due to destruction in the distribution infrastructure of their partners. On August 27-28, Ukraine faced devastating Russian strikes across multiple sectors, including postal services, publishing, alcohol, retail, and energy.
The attacks included strikes on two Nova Poshta sorting depots, the burning down of warehouses for major book publishers and retailers, and significant damage to a vodka distillery, a retail hypermarket, and a solar equipment warehouse. Russia targeted a warehouse used by 42 Ukrainian publishing houses, as reported by Urbino publishing house on Telegram.
Written by urgent.news from Kyiv Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
