The Ukrainian Book Institute has appealed to the international publishing community for support following Russian attacks in July and early August that destroyed approximately 10 million books and a significant portion of the country's book production capacity. The institute stated that these attacks on publishing, printing, and warehouse infrastructure have put some companies at risk of financial collapse.
A major attack on August 1 targeted warehouses belonging to the RNK-Ranok publishing group in Kharkiv, resulting in the destruction of approximately 8 million books. This followed July attacks in Kyiv where more than 1.5 million books were lost. Overall, these recent incidents have led to the destruction of about 30% of the volume of books produced annually in Ukraine.
The RNK-Ranok logistics centre, which also serves as the distribution hub for the national bookselling chain KnyhoLand, saw an additional 600,000 school textbooks destroyed alongside the estimated 8 million books. The preliminary financial loss is estimated at almost 1 billion hryvnias, equivalent to £16.5 million. Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, stated that the country faces "the risk of the collapse of the entire book ecosystem."
The institute is seeking donations to aid Ukrainian publishers and urges the international publishing community to collaborate with Ukrainian publishers and raise awareness about the attacks on Ukrainian culture. The Ukrainian government is developing support programmes, including grants and compensation, but the institute believes state assistance alone cannot fully cover publishers' losses.
On August 16, a Russian attack on Kyiv caused a fire at the Pochaina book market, destroying several rows of stalls and vendors' property. The institute emphasised the "strategic importance" of the book industry in preserving and promoting Ukrainian culture.