Russian Strikes Devastate Ukraine's Book Industry, Publishers Warn of Collapse

Russian missile and drone strikes have inflicted severe damage on Ukraine's publishing industry, destroying more than 13 million books — roughly a third of the country's annual print run — within two months this summer, according to the Ministry of Culture. The losses, estimated at 1.75 billion hryvnias ($39.3 million), have hit printing houses, warehouses and bookstores across the country.

In July, a missile struck the Konvi printing house in Kyiv, tearing through the roof and halting operations at a facility that had produced millions of books a year, specialising in fiction, educational material and scientific literature. Months later, charred pages of fourth-grade English textbooks still lay scattered on the floor, and paper remained frozen inside a destroyed printing machine.

Viktoriia Haidai, the company's commercial director, said the attack destroyed a huge quantity of finished and unfinished products, including textbooks that were due to reach schools the following day. She estimated that replacing the printing press would cost 1.2 million euros ($1.37 million) and that full restoration of capacity would take four to five years. Textbook printing timelines, once three to four months, are now expected to stretch to six or seven months, threatening deadlines for next year and beyond.

"We are a critical infrastructure, because we shape the future — we work on education, on culture. We work to preserve history," Haidai said. "Without this, no nation has a future."

On 1 August, a drone attack hit the Ranok publishing house in northeastern Kharkiv. Viktor Kruglov, who heads the company, described steel blazing and reinforced concrete melting as the blaze burned for nearly a week, reducing millions of books to ash. The warehouse, opened in 2013 as an automated logistics hub capable of processing tens of thousands of books a day, was destroyed along with 8 million books, including 620,000 textbooks supplied to nearly all of Ukraine's schools.

"This was done deliberately, to destroy the largest book logistics hub in Ukraine," Kruglov said, adding that the book industry is "an element of Ukraine's national security." He warned that without rapid strategic support, the sector could collapse entirely, and called for preferential lending and insurance, reconstruction of industry infrastructure, and measures to stimulate demand for reading.

At least 40 publishing houses and multiple bookstores have suffered damage in recent weeks. The attacks are part of a broader cultural toll: nearly 5,000 cathedrals, churches, museums, theatres and other cultural sites have been destroyed or damaged, and 35,000 art objects looted, according to official figures.

Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna said Russia's targeting of the publishing industry, libraries and books is an attempt to erase Ukraine's identity. "Culture is a matter of national security," she said, describing it as a factor that keeps the country resilient during the war.

The ministry is preparing a financial support package that includes state purchases of Ukrainian books for school libraries, grants for small publishers to cover printing costs, rent compensation for bookstores and a war-risk insurance programme for print runs. However, many in the industry say the measures are insufficient, as the state's primary focus remains on fighting the war.

Publishers warn that the destruction will have consequences beyond immediate financial losses. With resources stretched, investment in debut authors is expected to decline, small independent houses may reduce output or close, and larger publishers may rely more heavily on bestsellers and translated works — narrowing the market and threatening the future of Ukrainian literature.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not respond to a request for comment on the strikes targeting Ukraine's publishing infrastructure.