Russian strikes have destroyed 33% of the books printed in Ukraine this year. What does this mean for the book market?
In just two months, Russian strikes have destroyed around a third of Ukraine's annual book output: 1.5 million copies in July and 10 million in August. Dozens of publishers and bookshops have been affected, as well as hundreds of schools: 9% of new textbooks have been burned in the attacks.
It's a double whammy for Ukraine's publishing industry, as the devastating Russian attacks have come at a time of financial strain and low demand for books.
Many bookshops in Ukraine were forced to close in 2026 because bookselling is no longer profitable. Now the Russians are destroying the warehouses where books are stored.
Industry experts say that without state support, the sector could collapse altogether. What measures does the book business expect the government to take?
The scale of the problem
In July and August, Russian forces attacked at least nine companies in the publishing industry. The damage was not limited to direct destruction: dozens of businesses suffered indirect losses too. On 2 July, Russian missiles struck the central warehouse of a logistics partner used by the publisher BookChef, causing 800,000 books to go up in flames.
On 19 July, during an attack on the capital, the Russians destroyed a warehouse belonging to the Kyiv-based publisher #knygolove where 250,000 books had been stored. The office of arc.ua, a publisher co-founded by former health minister Uliana Suprun, was also damaged.
The offices of the Mison publishing house were burned to the ground in the same attack. Konvi, one of Ukraine's largest printing companies and a producer of school textbooks, also suffered damage.
The attacks intensified in August. On the first day of the month, Russian forces destroyed the Kharkiv warehouse used by Ranok, one of Ukraine's biggest publishers of textbooks and children's books, and KnyhoLend, a chain of bookshops. Almost 8 million books – 28,800 titles – burned in the blaze.
The attack affected other publishers too, many of which specialise in books for children – Readberry, Zhorzh, Fabula, Shche Odnu Storinku (One More Page), Varvar Publishing, Osnova, Svoie, Korali Books, Kenhuru (Kangaroo) and 4mamas.
On Sunday 16 August, Russian forces damaged offices and warehouses in Kyiv belonging to the publishers Nash Format and Laboratoriia.
Ranok CEO Viktor Kruhlov said the number of books destroyed over these two months – around 13 million – amounts to a third of the market's annual supply.
Some of the books destroyed – 8.6%, or 1.2 million copies – were textbooks. For some school subjects, Russia has destroyed the entire print run of textbooks for the 2026-27 academic year, said Serhii Babak, chair of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Education Committee.
Ninth-grade textbooks were hardest hit, with 850,000 copies destroyed, or 9.5% of the print run. Fourth-grade pupils have lost out on 271,000 books, or 7%. Sixth- and seventh-graders will be short of almost 45,000 textbooks, or 6% of the print run.
Both finished books and print runs still in production were hit. The publishers affected are Ranok, Hramota (which lost 50% of its printed textbooks), Linhvist, Akademiia, Osvita, Litera, Aston and Shkoliar.
How much has the book business lost?
Artem Bidenko, Head of the Ukrainian Publishers Association, told Ekonomichna Pravda that July and August 2026 may have been the toughest months in the history of Ukraine's book market. He said Russian attacks have cost the industry at least UAH 2 billion (US$44.8 million) in books alone, not counting equipment and premises.
"Some authors lost books that had already been printed, and the same is true of textbooks. So significant amounts of money will have to be found somewhere to reprint everything that had already been contracted. That means the losses are far greater than we can calculate right now," Bidenko says.
In a comment to Ekonomichna Pravda, Kruhlov noted that Ranok and its partners had printed all their textbooks without an advance payment from the state, which only pays after the advance copies have been received. He said Ranok does not currently have enough working capital to print another batch of books and textbooks.
"If the state doesn't help, I'm going to have to think hard about whether to continue working on school books," he said. A third of all textbooks are printed by Ranok.
In a critical condition
These devastating Russian strikes have hit the book market at a particularly difficult time. Demand for books is plummeting, forcing bookshops to close. Since spring 2026, Kyiv has seen the closure of a shop run by the publisher Artbooks, as well as Yakaboo's only bricks-and-mortar bookshop, located in the historic Main Post Office building on the Maidan.
Two bookshop cafés, Mriinyky in Vinnytsia and Fine Book Coffee in Kropyvnytskyi, have also closed, as have the Pershyi Tom bookshop in Cherkasy and two branches of the Readeat chain in Kyiv. Dmytro Feliksov, who owns the chain, said the shops barely broke even.
Forbes Ukraine reported that Feliksov was offering to sell both bookshops for UAH 5 million (US$112,000). The price did not cover his investment, but even so, he was unable to find a buyer.
The Vivat publishing house and bookshop chain, a major player on the market, has halted the opening of new locations due to falling demand, its director Yuliia Orlova said.
Business owners cite demographic trends as one reason for the decline in book sales: the population is shrinking and people are leaving the country. In addition, the rising cost of living is forcing Ukrainians to tighten their belts, and that includes spending less money on books.
"The economics of bookshops depend on footfall, and there has been no significant reduction in rents," Orlova said. "Landlords sometimes offer discounts, but that isn't enough to turn an unprofitable bookshop into a profitable one. We can see what the situation is with air defence in big cities, and we know this winter could be difficult. If even more people leave the country, some bookshops may not survive."
According to Bidenko, the book market entered a crisis of overproduction last winter. "We were afraid that not everyone would make it through the winter. Then the government launched the 'winter thousand' programme, and around UAH 220 million (US$5 million) came into the market in December, which saved it," he said. [The Winter Thousand is a one-off state payment of UAH 1,000 (US$22) introduced by the Ukrainian government at Zelenskyy's initiative as part of the Winter Support programme.] Publishers and book distributors are now expecting even stronger measures from the state.
Kruhlov, whose production facilities were hardest hit, has identified three actions that could save the book industry. Most of Ekonomichna Pravda's sources agreed with him.
- Preferential lending – creating a preferential loan programme for the publishing industry, including loans for post-strike recovery. The EBRD could be involved as a guarantor.
- Stimulating demand for books – existing support programmes (Baby Package, First-Grader Package and eBook for 18-year-olds) could be extended to under-25s and parents.
- Developing book infrastructure – supporting bookshops by offering partial compensation for rent, as provided for by legislation since 2023, as well as co-financing the purchase of new books for public and school libraries. No funds have been allocated for this in the state budget.
Kruhlov estimates that the market needs €125 million for recovery, most of it in the form of loans. "If the state launches purchases for libraries, a major buyer will appear on the market. That will give those affected some breathing room," Bidenko said. More bookshops and libraries would lower the risk of literature being destroyed.
Bidenko has also proposed deregulating the book industry. "Book publishing is exempt from VAT, but equipment isn't. Nor are books of less than 48 pages, which the tax authorities classify as brochures and therefore taxable, even though many children's books are this length," he said.
Will the state help?
The publishers said that since the strikes, the Verkhovna Rada's Education Committee has joined efforts to find money for textbook manufacturers. According to Ekonomicha Pravda's sources in the book industry, the committee is seeking UAH 150 million (US$3.3 million) for schoolbooks.
The Ministry of Culture has begun talks with businesses, but there is still no clear support plan. Deputy Prime Minister Tetiana Berezhna noted that printing companies affected by attacks can receive state grants of up to UAH 16 million (US$358,000) for repairs and up to UAH 30 million (US$672,000) in compensation under the war-risk insurance programme.
The ministry has promised to expand the eBook programme, in which Ukrainian citizens receive UAH 998 (about US$22) to buy books in Ukrainian when they reach the age of 18, and to introduce partial rent compensation for bookshops, as businesses have requested. However, Ekonomicha Pravda's book industry sources remain sceptical about Berezhna's statements.
One source complained: "The culture minister said she was working on compensation for bookshops and book purchases for libraries back in November 2025. It's now August, and we're talking about this again, but this time as an anti-crisis measure. Nothing has been done."
Volodymyr Tunik-Fryz
Translated by Ganna Bryedova and Yelyzaveta Khodatska
Edited by Teresa Pearce