Head of the Ukrainian Book Institute (UBI) Oleksandra Koval, following another Russia shelling that damaged publishing houses and printing facilities, announced the necessity of allocating UAH 150-200 million to restore one million lost books.
"Russia strikes at printing houses and publishers because it knows exactly that our weapon is there, that Ukrainian resilience is being forged there. We still have them! And there will be more! And help from the government to restore the lost million books is needed immediately, in my estimate, this is UAH 150-200 million," Koval wrote on Facebook.
In turn, Head of the Ukrainian Publishers Association (UPA) Artem Bidenko called on the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and Science, and other government bodies to urgently introduce mechanisms to support the affected printing houses and publishers.
"This is not just a question of economics or a separate business. This is a question of providing Ukrainian schoolchildren with textbooks, preserving cultural infrastructure, and the state’s resilience in the conditions of war," he wrote on Facebook.
Bidenko also appealed to international partners, professional associations, cultural institutions, libraries, and publishers with a call for solidarity and support for the Ukrainian book industry.
"I urge readers to support the affected publishers: buy their books, join fundraisers for restoration, and share information about their initiatives. The books that Russia is trying to destroy must be read," he added.
As reported, the Factor-Druk printing house was damaged by a hostile attack on Kharkiv on May 23, 2024.
On June 17, 2025, the BookUa bookstore-cafe in Kyiv’s Nyvky district was damaged by shelling. Glass doors and windows were blown out. On the same day, the warehouse of the Ukrainian Priority publishing house was destroyed. Tens of thousands of books, over 130 titles, were burned.
On July 4, 2025, the warehouse of the book publishing house and online store Nash Format in Kyiv was damaged as a result of a night Russia shelling.
On August 28, 2025, the KnyhoLand bookstore in the capital was damaged by shelling, and books were ruined. At the same time, the Kyiv Readeat bookstore was also affected.
On September 30, 2025, the warehouse of the Smaky publishing house was damaged as a result of a Russia shelling of Dnipro, and part of the print run was lost.
On October 23, 2025, the Plekay bookstore in Kyiv’s Podilsky district was damaged as a result of a Russia shelling. Specifically, windows in the premises were blown out by the blast wave.
On May 14, 2026, a Russia shelling damaged an electrical substation at one of the logistics centers of the Ranok publishing house in Kyiv.
On May 24, 2026, one of the bookstores of the Knyharnia Ye chain in Kyiv’s Podil district was affected.
On July 2, 2026, the central warehouse of the logistics company Denka Logistics was destroyed during a Russia attack, resulting in the destruction of about 800,000 books from the BookChef publishing house.
On the night of July 19, a Russia attack destroyed the warehouse of the Knyholav publishing house, with 250,000 books lost. The MISON publishing house was also destroyed, and the office of the Ark.UA publishing house in Kyiv was damaged. In addition, the printing house of the Convi group was destroyed, with nearly 250,000 textbooks and 350,000 blanks for publishing products destroyed.
