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Slashdot: Ukrainian Publishers Call For Support After Russian Attacks Destroy 10 Million Books

Ukrainian Publishers Call For Support After Russian Attacks Destroy 10 Million Books
Published on 2026-08-20T21:00:00Z
Russian attacks on Ukrainian publishing infrastructure in July and August destroyed roughly 10 million books, which equates to about 30% of Ukraine's annual book output. The Ukrainian Book Institute is warning of a potential "collapse of the entire book ecosystem" and is calling for international financial and industry support to help publishers, printers, and distributors recover. The Guardian reports: A major attack on August 1 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. The RNK-Ranok logistics centre, which stores books for the company's many imprints, is also the distribution centre for the national bookselling chain KnyhoLand, which runs 51 shops and several websites. Along with the estimated 8m books lost, a further 600,000 school textbooks were destroyed. The total loss has been preliminarily estimated at almost 1bn hryvnias (16.5m eueros). "At this stage, we face the risk of the collapse of the entire book ecosystem," said Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute. The institute is asking for donations to support Ukrainian publishers, and is calling on the international publishing community to work with Ukrainian publishers and raise awareness about Russian attacks on Ukrainian culture. On August 16, a Russian attack on Kyiv led to a fire breaking out at the Pochaina book market, destroying several rows of stalls, books and vendors' property. The Pochaina market, founded in 1997, was once one of Ukraine's largest book markets, with hundreds of stalls and books from more than 120 publishers. The institute said the book industry was of "strategic importance" to Ukraine, preserving and promoting Ukrainian culture and giving the country's voice a platform at home and abroad. [...] The institute also called for an end to cooperation with Russian publishers and literary agencies, saying that solidarity with Ukrainian publishers was crucial to preserving cultural heritage that Russia was "deliberately trying to destroy."

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