War on Words: Russia Destroyed a Third of Ukraine’s Annual Book Production This Summer
Russian attacks have destroyed up to 12 million books, including more than 620,000 textbooks, as publishers warn of supply shortages.
- On Friday, Ukraine's Culture Ministry reported a Russian strike on a Ranok publishing house logistics centre in Kharkiv destroyed 8 million books, including more than 620,000 textbooks.
- Russia has systematically targeted the Ukrainian publishing industry since 2022, with attacks intensifying this summer to include warehouses in Kyiv and Dnipro.
- The Ukrainian Publishers' Association reports more than 10 million books destroyed across the country this summer, with direct losses exceeding 1.2 billion hryvnias.
- With the academic year beginning September 1, hundreds of schools face textbook shortages; the Ukrainian Ministry of Education confirmed 1.2 million copies of new textbooks were destroyed.
- Ukrainian Minister of Education Andriy Butenko described the attacks as an attempt to destroy Ukrainian identity, while human rights advocate Oleksandra Matviychuk, director of the Centre for Civil Liberties, characterized them as part of a broader "genocidal policy.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Russian attacks on printing and publishing houses have increased this summer in Ukraine.
Biblioteca, publishing houses and used book markets ended up under Russian bombs. Destroyed a printing press out of which 10 percent of the total intended for schools for the academic year 2026-27. So Moscow wants to hit Ukrainian culture
War on words: Russia destroyed a third of Ukraine’s annual book production this summer
Russia continues to devastate Ukraine’s cultural heritage. Attacks on the book market, already under threat from the war, have intensified recently – over the summer, a third of Ukrainian publishers’ annual output, including a large proportion of textbooks, was destroyed in warehouses or printing works. Industry representatives are warning of a collapse of the sector, which would deprive Ukraine of the right to speak with its own voice.
leprogres.fr
Russia bombards printing factories and book warehouses with the aim of annihilating Ukrainian culture. Textbooks are the first targeted before the school year. More than 10 million books have already gone into smoke.
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