Russian attack burns book stalls at Petrivka and damages multiple Ukrainian publishers

Almost all book stalls at Kyiv’s Petrivka book market burned down after a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital overnight on Aug. 16. A large fire broke out across the market, destroying book pavilions, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service and a Chytomo correspondent at the scene.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and began dismantling damaged structures and continuing fire-suppression work. Preliminary reports indicate that two people were injured at the market.

“The market sustained significant damage. At the time of filming, there were many firefighters at the site, but everyone was in shelter because an air raid alert was in effect. We are waiting for the damage assessment once the work is completed,” Chytomo’s correspondent reported from the scene at around 10 a.m.

Petrivka was founded on March 1, 1997, and became one of Ukraine’s largest book markets and a well-known destination for Kyiv book lovers. Hundreds of retail spaces operated there, offering books from more than 120 publishers.

For decades, the market has been one of Kyiv’s key centers of book trade, selling both new and secondhand books, Ukrainian and translated literature, professional and academic publications, children’s books and antiquarian editions.

This was not the first Russian attack to damage the market in 2026. On June 15, another Russian strike on Kyiv caused a major fire at the book market, burning part of the trading rows.

The Aug. 16 attack also damaged the offices of Ukrainian publishers Nash Format and Laboratoria, both located in the same area of Kyiv.

Several rooms in the Nash Format office were damaged, with parts of walls and ceilings destroyed and furniture affected. No employees were injured. The publishing house said it was assessing the extent of the damage.

“We are not opening a separate fundraiser to restore the office. The best way to support Nash Format right now is to buy our books. Every order helps the team continue working, repair the damage and keep publishing books in Ukrainian,” the publisher said.

This was also not the first Russian strike to affect Nash Format. On July 4, 2025, a Russian attack on Kyiv damaged the publisher’s warehouse and online store. The blast wave and debris destroyed part of the facade, shattered windows and damaged ceilings and warehouse premises, while some books were affected by the strike and subsequent firefighting. The publisher estimated losses from the shutdown and relocation at between $30,000 and $100,000. Operations were fully restored about a month and a half after the attack.

Laboratoria founder Anton Martynov also reported damage to the publisher’s office and part of its warehouse facilities near the book market.

“Iskander missiles hit Laboratoria’s office and part of its warehouses in Pochaina near the book market. We had not yet managed to move everything we planned to other warehouses across Ukraine, although you never know where it is safe to relocate premises,” Martynov wrote.

Laboratoria said shipments would be only partially disrupted because the publisher had already diversified book storage across other warehouses.

RM Publishing, a Ukrainian publisher that releases a significant number of translated titles, also reported serious damage to its office and warehouses in Pochaina. The publisher said the ceiling and walls were damaged and windows were blown out in its office, warehouses and pickup point. Due to damage to the warehouse premises, there is currently no access to the books, and removing them is impossible.

RM said it was temporarily pausing order shipments to assess the extent of the damage, clear debris and reorganise its operations. The publisher said there would be no shipments during the week, while August preorders would be extended by three weeks. It also noted that this was not the first attack to damage its premises, although previous destruction had been less significant and operations had been restored quickly.

BookChef also reported damage to its office following the Aug. 16 Russian attack on Kyiv. According to the publisher, the attack damaged the windows and facade of its online store, part of the warehouse premises where books were stored, a photo zone prepared for exhibitions, as well as the publisher’s marketing materials and merchandise. The roof and facade of the building were also seriously damaged. BookChef said its online store continued to operate as usual, with orders being accepted, processed and shipped. The publisher also launched a fundraiser to restore its warehouse.

Ranok and Vikhola also reported damage from the Aug. 16 attack.

Ranok, whose logistics center in Kharkiv was hit by a Russian attack on Aug. 1, was among the publishers affected again on Aug. 16. The earlier attack destroyed around 8 million book copies stored at the center, including books published by Ranok and numerous other Ukrainian publishers. More than 40,000 Ranok books burned in the Aug. 16 attack at the publisher’s warehouse in Pochaína, located at the Alpaka bookstore. Office equipment was not damaged, but the premises are currently unusable. The publisher said the attack primarily affected its logistics, production schedules, and printing plans. Ranok does not plan to suspend operations and is redistributing workloads, adjusting schedules, and seeking alternative production solutions.

Vikhola said storage facilities containing furniture for its network of book islands were also damaged in the attack. According to the publisher, the premises had previously been damaged in Russian attacks, making this the third time they were affected.

The Aug. 16 destruction comes amid repeated Russian attacks on Ukraine’s publishing and bookselling infrastructure.

Zhorzh alone lost around 400,000 books in the Aug. 1 attack. The publisher said its losses exceeded its annual sales.

Earlier in July, Russian attacks also struck Ukraine’s printing infrastructure. A missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv overnight on July 18–19 devastated the Konvi printing facility, completely destroyed a #knygolove warehouse and the office of the newly established Mison publishing house, and damaged the office of Arc.ua. Around 850,000 books were destroyed or damaged during the attack.

As reported earlier, Russian attacks destroyed nearly 1 million BookChef books this summer, including around 800,000 copies on July 2 and more than 100,000 additional books on Aug. 5.

Russian attacks have repeatedly damaged Ukrainian publishing and printing infrastructure since the start of the full-scale invasion. In May 2024, a Russian strike on the Factor Druk printing house in Kharkiv killed seven employees and severely damaged one of Ukraine’s largest printing facilities. Before the attack, the printing complex produced around 40% of Ukraine’s school textbooks.

Photo: Yevheniia Petrutska, Suspilne Kultura, BookChef (Facebook)