---
title: "Strikes on warehouses destroyed up to 15 million Ukrainian books: publishers warn of rising prices"
description: "Over several months, shelling destroyed up to 15 million Ukrainian books, including around 9% of new textbooks. Publishers Vivat, Nash Format and BookChef warn of an inevitable price rise due to shrinking print runs and rising logistics costs."
date: 2026-09-02T15:46:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/ukrainian-books-destroyed-price-rise
tags: [ukraine, publishing, books, war-economy, rbc-ukraine, textbooks]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Strikes on warehouses destroyed up to 15 million Ukrainian books: publishers warn of rising prices

![Destroyed Ukrainian textbooks with charred edges and covers following strikes on warehouses](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/02/ukraine-books-destroyed-price-rise/ukraine-books-destroyed-price-rise-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Over several months, attacks destroyed nearly half of Ukraine's annual book output, with losses estimated at up to 15 million copies.
- On the night of August 28, print runs from 30+ publishers burned at a Nova Poshta warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, including Vivat, Nash Format, Rannok and BookChef.
- Around 9% of new school textbooks burned; restoring working volumes will take 3–5 years.
- Publishers expect price rises: Nash Format books rose by an average of 20% last year, while BookChef is targeting +10–15% per year.

Ukraine's book market is going through one of the hardest episodes in the history of independent publishing. According to RBC-Ukraine, over the course of several months, enemy shelling and attacks on infrastructure have led to the destruction of nearly half of the country's annual book output. Publishers publicly acknowledge that the cost of printed editions will inevitably change, meaning readers should expect a review of prices. The scale of the losses and their economic consequences are described by the heads of publishing houses whose print runs burned in warehouses and offices.

### Scale of the losses: nearly half of the annual print run

The key blow to the industry came on the night of August 28, when an attack destroyed book print runs belonging to at least three dozen Ukrainian publishers and bookstores at a Nova Poshta warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv Oblast. Among those affected were Vivat, Nash Format, Rannok, A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga, Knihohlav, Laboratoriia, BookChef and others. According to rough estimates by the publishers themselves, total losses could reach 15 million copies. "Our books are with wholesale partners and retail chains, which are also suffering from Russian attacks. So we are receiving new information about losses almost every day," said Yulia Orlova, CEO and co-founder of Vivat.

### Blow to textbooks and recovery timelines

In addition to fiction and non-fiction, school textbooks were also hit: according to estimates, around 9% of new textbooks for Ukrainian schools burned as a result of attacks on various cities. This creates an additional risk for the educational process. Viktor Kruhlov, general director of the Rannok publishing house, assesses the recovery horizon pessimistically: "It will take 3–5 years to return to previous working volumes… Most likely, it will not be possible to print all the titles." Thus, the industry faces not only direct financial losses but also a long-term contraction of its range.

### Why book prices will inevitably rise

Publishers explain the economic mechanism behind the price rise simply: "The larger the print run, the lower the cost per copy," they note at Vivat. Because print runs are being forced to shrink and books must be distributed faster between stores and customers, the cost of a single book is rising. At Nash Format they acknowledge: "There are preconditions for further price increases. Printing, logistics, materials and electricity are all getting more expensive — and all of this directly affects the cost of a book." Last year alone, their books rose in price by an average of around 20%. At BookChef, editor-in-chief Evhen Shyroshon adds that logistics are also getting more expensive, since warehouses used to be centralized, whereas now each project is calculated individually, and the publishing house is trying to keep price increases to no more than 10–15% per year.

### What comes next: forecasts and caveats

Publishing houses have not yet named the exact size of the future price increase: much, they say, will depend on the situation in winter and on the dynamics of prices for printing, materials and electricity. At Nash Format they emphasize that "we will certainly try not to pass all the additional costs on to the reader," while at BookChef they note that specific figures for each project are calculated separately. Meanwhile, some publishing houses are already looking for alternative warehouse capacity to resume shipments. For the reader, this means that in the coming months and years the printed book in Ukraine will most likely become more expensive, and the range will no longer be as complete as it was before the series of strikes on warehouse infrastructure.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Russia is mass-destroying Ukrainian books: will prices for printed editions "soar"?](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/rf-masovo-znishchue-ukrayinski-knizhki-chi-1788363319.html) - Основной источник: удар на складе «Новой почты» 28 августа, список издательств, оценка до 15 млн экземпляров, 9% учебников, прогнозы роста цен (Vivat, «Наш формат» +20%, BookChef +10–15%).
- ["Nash Format" under attack again: publishing house's office damaged in Russian strike (PHOTOS)](https://delo.ua/ru/news/nas-format-snova-pod-udarom-v-rezultate-ataki-rf-povrezden-ofis-izdatelstva-foto-470836/) - Подтверждает масштаб ежемесячных потерь (порядка 1,5 млн книг), что согласуется с накопительной оценкой в десятки миллионов за несколько месяцев.
- [Ukrainian publishers lost 1.5 million books in a month due to shelling](https://delo.ua/ru/news/ukrainskie-izdatelstva-poteryali-15-mln-knig-iz-za-obstrelov-469580/) - Подтверждает масштаб ежемесячных потерь (порядка 1,5 млн книг), что согласуется с накопительной оценкой в десятки миллионов за несколько месяцев.
- [While Russia destroys Ukrainian books: a Ukrainian woman boasted about Russian textbooks for her child](https://glavred.info/ukraine/poka-rf-unichtozhaet-ukrainskie-knigi-ukrainka-pohvastalas-rossiyskimi-uchebnikami-dlya-rebenka-10786211.html) - Контекстный материал; не содержит противоречий по цифрам потерь, использован лишь как фон.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: How many Ukrainian books have been destroyed as a result of the shelling?
**A:** According to rough estimates by publishers, losses could reach 15 million copies — nearly half of Ukraine's annual book output over several months.

### Q: What happened on the night of August 28?
**A:** During an attack on a Nova Poshta warehouse in Sviatopetrivske, Kyiv Oblast, print runs belonging to at least 30 Ukrainian publishers and bookstores were destroyed, including Vivat, Nash Format, Rannok, A-ba-ba-ga-la-ma-ga and BookChef.

### Q: Were school textbooks affected?
**A:** Yes. As a result of attacks on various cities, around 9% of new textbooks for Ukrainian schools burned.

### Q: Will books become more expensive, and by how much?
**A:** Publishers expect price rises due to shrinking print runs and rising costs of printing, logistics and materials. Nash Format books rose by an average of 20% last year, BookChef is targeting increases of no more than 10–15% per year; the exact forecast depends on the winter situation.

### Q: When will publishers restore their previous volumes?
**A:** According to Viktor Kruhlov, general director of Rannok, it will take 3–5 years to return to previous working volumes, and most likely not all titles will be possible to print.