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Books hit before school
Russian strikes destroyed 12 million books and damaged publishing houses and cultural heritage sites across Ukraine as the country prepared for a new school year, with an overnight missile hitting a printing plant on the outskirts of Kyiv.
“Nothing is salvageable at the Kyiv printing plant.”
The facility, where production was increasing to deliver 1.3 million books—about 10% of Ukraine’s schoolbooks—was left with “Nothing is salvageable at the Kyiv printing plant,” according to Viktoria Haidai, commercial director of the Konvi publishing firm.
At the same time, BBC reporting described a charred page from an English-language textbook bearing the words: "My name is William, I'm from the UK. My grandmother lives in Nottingham. It's a beautiful city."
The attacks also reached Kyiv’s Pochaina second-hand book market, where the BBC said hundreds of individual stalls were wiped out, and they extended to Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, where the golden domes of the Dormition Cathedral were hit after a drone attack.
Officials call it deliberate
Haidai told the BBC, "I believe it is deliberate on the part of the Russian Federation," as she described how some of the largest publishing houses had lost logistics warehouses over the past two months.
The BBC also quoted UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany saying he was "deeply saddened" by "the significant damage" after touring Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra with Ukraine’s Minister of Culture, Tetyana Berezhna.
Berezhna told the BBC that the cultural and military impacts of Russia’s war should not be separated, saying, "This is an existential war, so Russia wants to destroy us as a nation, to erase us as a nation."
Euronews reported that Russia’s Defence Ministry said it was preparing “massive strikes” on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, while also describing how classes were due to resume at Ukrainian schools on Tuesday and whether parents would send children was unclear.
Publishing sector at risk
The BBC said repairs at Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra were predicted to cost $11.2 million (£8.2m) and take two years, while UNESCO listed the complex as a World Heritage Site in Danger in September 2023.
“Repairs are predicted to cost $11.2 million (£8.2m) and will take two years.”
Arise News reported that more than 35 publishing facilities have been hit in recent weeks, and it described how even pages that survived the flames were ruined by water from firefighting efforts or exposure to the elements after the roof collapsed.
Euronews said classes were due to resume at Ukrainian schools on Tuesday, but it was unclear whether parents would send their children, adding that schools have air raid shelters and classes can also be held online.
Across the broader publishing ecosystem, Arise News warned that there are growing warnings that Ukraine’s entire publishing sector is under threat and requires international support to remain viable, while Haidai said, "The word is everything. It is our development, our culture, and our historical heritage that is passed down from generation to generation."