Russia’s war in Ukraine is taking a growing toll on the country’s publishing industry, with millions of books destroyed in attacks on warehouses and distribution centres.
A Russian drone strike on a publishing warehouse in Kharkiv this summer destroyed about eight million books, wiping out more than 85 per cent of the stock held by publisher Ranok. The warehouse was storing schoolbooks, children’s literature, textbooks and other titles ahead of the new academic year.
Another attack on a warehouse near Kyiv destroyed the entire stock of the small publishing house Krapky, while a separate strike also destroyed about 40,000 books belonging to another major Ukrainian publisher.
Ukrainian officials estimate that about 13 million books were destroyed by Russian missile and drone attacks this summer alone, representing roughly a third of all books printed in the country this year.
The losses come as Ukraine’s publishing sector has undergone a significant transformation since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Demand for Ukrainian-language literature has increased sharply as readers and publishers have moved away from Russian imports.
Publishers are now trying to rebuild stocks, reprint essential schoolbooks and distribute books among smaller warehouses to reduce the risk of losing entire inventories in future attacks.
The destruction has also raised concerns about the survival of smaller publishers and the continued growth of Ukrainian-language literature during the war.
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