PEN Ukraine calls on world to support Ukrainian publishers after Russian strikes

PEN Ukraine, a cultural and human rights organisation, has called on the Ukrainian state and the international community to support Ukraine's publishing industry and provide more military, financial and humanitarian assistance, and has urged Ukrainians to buy more Ukrainian books.

Source: PEN Ukraine

Details: In a statement, PEN Ukraine referred to Russia's attack on the night of 27-28 August, when Ukrainian publishers once again suffered major losses.

According to Ukraine's Ministry of Culture, over the summer of 2026 alone, Russia destroyed more than 10 million Ukrainian books – one-third of the books annually published in Ukraine. They include works by Ukrainian authors and books translated into Ukrainian from dozens of foreign languages.

"Books shape our values, our ways of thinking, our cultural memory, our identity, and our sense of community. They are also a foundation of national education – and the new school year in Ukraine begins in just a few days," the statement says.

The community therefore called on the Ukrainian state to support the publishing industry and urged Ukrainian citizens to buy Ukrainian books more often.

PEN also appealed to the international community to provide Ukraine with modern defensive weapons and to make joint efforts to bring representatives of the Russian Federation to criminal justice for committing international crimes.

"We call for more consistent engagement of international partners in providing financial and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including support for Ukrainian publishers and booksellers," the statement said.

Read more: Fahrenheit 451: Russia has destroyed one-third of the books printed in Ukraine this year

Background:

• On 1 August, the warehouses of the Ranok publishing house in Kharkiv were destroyed. The attack also affected other publishers – Readberry, Zhorzh, Fabula, Shche Odna Storinka, Varvar Publishing, Osnova, Svoie, Korali Books, Kenhuru and 4mamas, as well as the KnyhoLand bookshop chain. Nearly 8 million books – 28,800 titles – were destroyed.
• The publishers RM and BookChef at the Pochaina book market were also affected as a result of a Russian attack on Kyiv on 16 August.

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