Ukrainian publishers call for support after Russian attacks destroy 10m books

The country risks ‘the collapse of the entire book ecosystem’ following destruction of warehouses in July and August, say Ukrainian publishers

The Ukrainian Book Institute has called on the international publishing community to support Ukrainian publishers after Russian attacks in July and early August destroyed about 10m books and a significant share of the country’s book production capacity.

The institute said the attacks on publishing, printing and warehouse infrastructure had left some companies at risk of financial collapse. A major attack on 1 August hit warehouses belonging to the RNK-Ranok publishing group in Kharkiv, destroying approximately 8m books, following July attacks in Kyiv which led to the loss of more than 1.5m books. In all, the recent attacks have led to the destruction of approximately 30% of the volume of books produced annually in Ukraine.