Solutions from Ukraine: Knyholav Publishing House launches "The Fire Didn't Finish Reading" project, selling books damaged in Russian attacks
Knyholav prepared books for sale that remained fully readable following the attacks, even though some bear traces of fire and soot, while others have damaged covers. The publishing house emphasizes that external defects did not prevent the preservation of what matters most—the stories themselves, which can still find new readers.
"They survived the Russian missile strike on our warehouse. Some were charred, some were covered in soot, and others had damaged covers. But inside, they remained intact. You can still read them, pass them to friends, and put them on shelves. They can still tell their stories," the statement reads.
The publisher sorted the surviving copies into five categories:
Buyers can select their preferred genre, but cannot choose a specific title—the publishing house sends a random book within that category.
The sale aims to help the company recover after enduring two missile strikes within three months. At the same time, the publisher is preparing to celebrate its 10th anniversary in just a month.
BackgroundIt should be noted that in July, Ukraine lost over 1.5 million copies of books due to Russian shelling. The "CONVI PLUS" printing house, alongside Knyholav and Mison.publishing suffered the greatest destruction, while the government is preparing support mechanisms for the affected industry.
House of Europe noted that Russian strikes damaged or destroyed at least 9.6 million books overall this summer. At the same time, media reports suggest an even higher estimate—over 10 million destroyed books over the summer season.
Rubryka previously reported that publishers requested President Volodymyr Zelenskyi to convene the National Security and Defense Council and instruct the government to develop compensation and recovery mechanisms for destroyed print runs. The "Ukrainian Publishing Association" public union estimates the industry's direct losses at a minimum of 1.19 billion hryvnias.
Additionally, an initiative was launched in Ukraine to aggregate information on book and board game publishers affected by Russian attacks. The public can support them through regular purchases of their products—books and games.
It is worth mentioning that Rubryka compiled a guide highlighting five publishers impacted by Russian attacks and their titles, offering readers a way to replenish home libraries while supporting damaged businesses. Unfortunately, many more publishers have suffered, making it impossible to list them all in a single report. Regardless, buying and reading Ukrainian books remains the single best way to support local publishers in the face of enemy attempts to destroy them. Read more in our article: "Which books to buy to support publishers damaged by Russian attacks."
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13 of October 2026
