Strikes devastate Ukraine's book industry

Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's printing presses, publishing houses, and book markets have destroyed 12 million books this summer, according to reports from local media and Ukrainian officials. The attacks came just before the start of the new school year, hitting production of textbooks across the country.

More than 35 publishing facilities have been hit over recent weeks. Local media report that Russia has destroyed a third of all the books printed in Ukraine this year. Among the hardest-hit was a printing press on the edge of Kyiv, which was struck by a Russian missile during the night, just as production was ramping up to deliver 1.3 million books – 10 percent of Ukraine's schoolbooks. The plant's commercial director, Viktoria Haidai, described the scene: "Nothing is salvageable. Even the pages that survived the flames have succumbed to water damage, from firefighting or exposure to the elements from the collapsed roof."

In Kharkiv, in north-eastern Ukraine, a Russian strike on a publishing house destroyed around eight million books, including an estimated 620,000 school textbooks, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry. A further 60,000 books were destroyed in strikes on warehouses belonging to publishers around Kyiv. Kyiv's Pochaina second-hand book market was also struck, injuring at least three people and sparking fires among the market stalls, wiping out hundreds of individual stalls.

Accusations of deliberate targeting

The attacks have prompted accusations that Russia is deliberately trying to destroy Ukraine's cultural identity. Haidai said: "I believe it is deliberate on the part of the Russian Federation. Over the past two months, some of the largest publishing houses have lost their logistics warehouses, where very large quantities of books were stored. The Russians are also destroying printing houses in an attempt to erase Ukraine as a nation. But frankly they will not succeed."

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said: "Russia is afraid of Ukrainian books." Oleksandra Koval, director of the Ukrainian Book Institute, warned that repeated attacks risk causing the "collapse of the entire book ecosystem." Ukrainian officials say Russia has attacked the country's book industry at least 21 times since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

At the Pochaina market, book blogger Liliya Velyka was seen raking through the smouldering ruins, clutching a soaking copy of a sci-fi novel. "Books are saving us and losing this is like losing our hearts," she said.

Broader damage to cultural heritage

The strikes on the book industry are part of a wider pattern of Russian attacks on Ukrainian cultural sites, including museums, art galleries, film studios, libraries, and opera houses. The Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a historic monastery complex, was hit by a drone attack. UNESCO, which listed the complex in 1990 and added it to its register of world heritage sites in danger in September 2023, expressed concern. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said she was "deeply saddened" by the damage to the cathedral.

Ukraine's Minister of Culture, Tetyana Berezhna, said Russia has attacked over 1,900 pieces of Ukrainian heritage and more than 2,000 cultural institutions. "This is an existential war, so Russia wants to destroy us as a nation," she said. Berezhna noted that digitisation is part of the strategy to protect art and literature from further destruction.

Russia's response

Russia has not said it is deliberately targeting Ukrainian books or publishers. Moscow maintains that its military strikes are aimed at military targets and infrastructure supporting Ukraine's war effort. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied deliberately hitting civilian targets, and its embassy has blamed Ukraine's own government for damage to its cultural heritage.

The attacks have intensified as the new school year approaches, with publishers racing to replace destroyed textbooks. Ukrainian officials have called the destruction an attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, while Russia denies any intention to target cultural sites.