Twelve Million Ukrainian Books Destroyed as Russian Missiles Hit Printing and Publishing Sites

A printing plant on the outskirts of Kyiv was left with almost nothing after a Russian missile attack destroyed 1.3 million books. The loss represents about 10% of all Ukrainian textbooks, while roughly 12 million books have been destroyed across the country, or about one-third of what Ukraine printed this year.

Ukrainian printing houses, publishers and warehouses have increasingly come under attack. More than 35 sites linked to the publishing industry have reportedly been hit in recent weeks. The targets have included a Kyiv used-book market, where hundreds of stalls held old and rare editions as well as textbooks that families were buying before the school year.

At the market, 28-year-old Lilia Velyka searched through scattered pages while firefighters were still battling the blaze, looking for anything that could be saved. At the Kyiv printing plant, books that escaped the flames were destroyed during firefighting operations.

“

I believe Russia is doing this deliberately. In the last two months, some of the largest publishers have lost their logistics centers, where huge quantities of books were stored.

“I believe Russia is doing this deliberately. In the last two months, some of the largest publishers have lost their logistics centers, where huge quantities of books were stored,” said Viktoria Haidai, commercial director of the publishing house Konvy. She said Russian forces were destroying printing plants in an effort to erase Ukraine as a nation.

The attacks have also damaged museums, art galleries, film studios, libraries, opera houses and churches. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a medieval monastery and UNESCO World Heritage site, suffered drone damage that destroyed much of its roof. The repair bill is estimated at $11.2 million and the work could take two years. Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna said military and cultural attacks could not be considered separately.

“This is an existential war, and Russia wants to destroy us as a nation, to erase us as a nation. So that Ukrainians do not exist and it is as if they never existed. That is why Russia targets our cultural heritage, the symbols of our long presence here,” Berezhna told the BBC.

“

This is an existential war, and Russia wants to destroy us as a nation, to erase us as a nation. So that Ukrainians do not exist and it is as if they never existed. That is why Russia targets our cultural heritage, the symbols of our long presence here.