A Russian bombing attack on August 1 hit an automated publishing distribution center in Ukraine, “destroying approximately eight million books, continuing a campaign of ‘deliberate’ assault on the country’s book industry,” the Bookseller reported. Two Russian drones hit a RNK-Ranok Publishing warehouse outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

RNK-Ranok CEO Victor Kruglov said: “Two jet-powered drones struck the same location. This means it was a deliberately planned attack to destroy textbooks and Ukrainian books.” In addition to education and children’s specialist RNK-Ranok’s own stock, the attack affected other publishers distributed by the company. The warehouse was also used by KnyhoLand, one of Ukraine’s biggest book chains, to process customer orders.

“Our Ukrainian publishing colleagues have consistently been targeted during this terrible war waged by Russia,” said Gvantsa Jobava, president of the International Publishers Association. ‘They are bravely fighting to keep Ukrainian culture alive, to keep Ukrainian children learning. The international publishing community must keep finding ways to support our Ukrainian colleagues and all those publishers continuing their work in war time.”

Jessica Sänger, chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee, added: “These attacks on Ukrainian books are part of a despicable attempt to erase Ukrainian culture. We cannot stop the wars but we can support our colleagues in war zones and find ways to keep them publishing the books that their communities need.”