The Ukrainian Book Institute has issued an urgent appeal for international support after Russian attacks in July and early August destroyed roughly 10 million books and an estimated 30% of Ukraine's annual book production capacity. The most devastating strike hit warehouses belonging to Kharkiv-based RNK-Ranok — one of Ukraine's largest publishing groups — on 1 August, incinerating approximately 8 million books and 600,000 school textbooks, with total losses preliminarily valued at nearly 1 billion hryvnias (around £16.5 million). Institute director Oleksandra Koval warned that the industry now faces "the risk of the collapse of the entire book ecosystem," urging the global publishing community to partner with Ukrainian publishers and sever ties with Russian counterparts, which the institute says are part of a deliberate campaign to erase Ukrainian cultural identity.