After the destruction of 1.5 million books, the government will step in: The Cabinet of Ministers is preparing support for publishers
27 July 23:58
The Ukrainian book publishing industry will receive government support following a series of Russian attacks on printing houses, publishing houses, and book warehouses. This was announced by Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi, according to "Komersant Ukrainian"
The prime minister emphasized that Russia is deliberately targeting the Ukrainian book publishing industry, seeking to destroy not only production facilities but also Ukraine’s cultural space.
“Russia is systematically destroying Ukrainian book publishing. The Russians are constantly attacking printing houses, publishing houses, and book warehouses,” Koretskyi noted.
That is why the government has instructed the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications and the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine to develop a mechanism for state support of companies in the industry.
In July, Russia destroyed 1.5 million Ukrainian books
According to the head of government, Russian attacks destroyed more than 1.5 million copies of Ukrainian books in July alone.
The material losses to the book publishing industry are already estimated at hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
The following were targeted:
- printing houses;
- publishing houses;
- book warehouses;
- production facilities.
One of the most devastating attacks was the Russian strike on July 19.
As a result of the shelling, one of the Ukrainian printing plants lost its production capacity.
In addition, more than 400,000 school textbooks that were being prepared for the new school year were destroyed.
Other companies in the printing industry also sustained damage.
How State Aid Is Planned to Be Allocated
It is expected that the future aid mechanism will make it possible to:
- restore damaged printing plants;
- support the operations of Ukrainian publishing houses;
- restock public library collections;
- ensure the publication of new books;
- preserve the industry’s production capacity.
“Even with limited budgetary resources, the government will find a way to support Ukrainian books. This will help companies resume operations, replenish public library collections, and preserve the viability of Ukrainian book publishing,” the prime minister said.
