Russian missile strikes have destroyed 12 million books across Ukraine, including a Kyiv printing press scheduled to supply textbooks for pupils returning for the first week of the new school term. Viktoria Haidai, a commercial director at the Konvi publishing firm, examined the damaged remains of a plant on the edge of Kyiv that was hit overnight. At the time of the attack, production was ramping up to deliver 1.3 million books, around 10% of Ukraine’s schoolbook supply for the year. In the burnt rubble, Haidai and others found charred pages from an English-language textbook, including lines introducing a fictional student in the UK. The company said no part of the site was salvageable, with surviving pages damaged further by water from firefighting efforts and by exposure after the building’s roof collapsed. Attacks on Presses and Book SuppliesThe strike in Kyiv is part of a broader pattern of damage to printing and publishing operations. Local reports say Russia has destroyed about one third of all books printed in Ukraine this year, while more than 35 publishing facilities have been hit in recent weeks. Haidai said the disruption extended beyond new print runs. She described Russian attacks on logistics warehouses used by major publishing houses to store large quantities of books, alongside strikes on printing facilities. She also said the targets were intended to erase Ukraine’s national identity, citing what she described as a deliberate effort to destroy cultural materials. More of the losses were not limited to new textbooks: Kyiv’s Pochaina second-hand book market was also hit, with hundreds of individual stalls damaged and many books lost. Book Damage Beyond Printing HousesDamage has also spread to cultural institutions. Muse ums, art galleries, film studios, libraries and opera venues have been affected, according to the article’s accounts. At Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a major medieval monastery and UNESCO-listed heritage site in the capital, drone strikes set fire to the roof of the Dormition Cathedral, damaging parts of the building including the golden domes. Religious artefacts were moved to safety during the raid, but repairs are expected to cost $11.2 million (£8.2m) and take two years. The monastery complex includes Ukraine’s museum of books and printing. UNESCO listed the site in 1990 and added it to its World Heritage List in Danger in September 2023. At celebrations marking the monastery’s 975th anniversary, UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany said he was “deeply saddened” by the “significant damage” and condemned attacks on cultural property protected under international law. He made the remarks after touring the cathedral with Ukraine’s minister of culture, Tetyana Berezhna. Berezhna said the cultural and military impacts of Russia’s war were inseparable and argued that Russia targets symbols of Ukraine’s history and presence. She said Russia has attacked more than 1,900 pieces of Ukrainian heritage and more than 2,000 cultural institutions. She also pointed to digitisation as part of the response, saying it is intended to help children continue learning despite physical book losses. Calls for International SupportUkraine’s publishing sector faces an “existential” threat, the article says, and warnings have been issued that it needs international support to remain viable. Haidai said protecting the industry was critical to preserving Ukrainian literature, arguing that words are passed down through generations. She made the point after seeing the destruction at the Konvi press. The article also notes that in a 2021 essay titled On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote that Ukrainians and Russians were one people and questioned the basis for an independent Ukrainian state and culture. In a statement to the BBC, the Russian embassy to the UK blamed Ukraine’s own government for damage to cultural heritage, saying monuments had been dismantled and streets renamed, and adding claims that cultural sites were used to conceal military facilities. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied deliberately targeting civilian sites during its five-year full-scale invasion, despite widespread missile and drone attacks on residential and other civilian infrastructure. Join the discussion? 31 August 2026
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