When an incoming jet-powered Shahed drone slammed into the Ranok publishing headquarters in Kharkiv on a Saturday morning in August, it triggered a catastrophic chain reaction that reduced eight million books to charred ruin. Viktor Kruglov, the co-founder and chief executive of the publisher Ranok, was on the warehouse floor with five senior colleagues discussing distribution for the approaching school year when the first strike hit just 30 metres away.
The warehouse, built 15 years ago on a former bread factory site, spanned roughly 10,000 square metres with books stacked 12 metres high. The blast, combined with jet fuel and mountains of paper, ignited a massive fire that took firefighters a week to bring under control. The destruction wiped out 85% of Ranok’s total stock, including 628,000 new schoolbooks meant for students ahead of the school year, along with thousands of copies of international bestsellers and contemporary titles such as Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Max Brallier’s The Last Kids on Earth series. Total financial losses are estimated at 1.75 billion hryvnias, or at least $39.3 million.
The Expanding Campaign Against Ukrainian Culture
The strike on Kharkiv is part of a broader, methodical escalation by Russian forces targeting printing presses, publishing houses, and cultural depots across Ukraine. Russian shelling and drone attacks have destroyed as many as 15 million new books in recent months, with 13 million Ukrainian books destroyed by Russian missiles or drones this summer—a third of all books printed in Ukraine this year. Meanwhile, Viktor Kruglov asserted that the publishing houses are intentionally singled out, telling reporters that Russia believes books are more dangerous than military equipment.
The assault extends far beyond publishing warehouses into the heart of Kyiv’s historic and scientific institutions. On September 28, a separate Russian attack damaged the National Taras Shevchenko Museum in central Kyiv, citing Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture. Specialists are inspecting the museum building and assessing the extent of the damage to the literary and art museum dedicated to the life and work of the Ukrainian poet, artist, philosopher and public intellectual. This follows a string of urban strikes that recently damaged a building belonging to the National Academy of Sciences and impacted a working medical clinic in the capital.
Contrasting Perspectives on the Strategy of Destruction
While publishing executives and cultural officials point to a deliberate campaign to erase Ukrainian language and heritage, other analysts and government representatives view the strategy through an even wider lens of systemic devastation. International observers and Ukrainian officials characterize the ongoing onslaught against civilian infrastructure—spanning schools, hospitals, cultural sites, and humanitarian depots—as part of a broader campaign of genocide aimed at dismantling Ukrainian society entirely. The systematic targeting of logistical hubs, fulfilment centres, and warehouses is intended to remove the possibility of everyday life.
Despite the staggering scale of the losses, publishing leaders maintain a fierce resolve to rebuild. Kruglov told reporters that the ability to reprint titles and keep editorial teams intact is what keeps the publishing house moving forward through the crisis. Even as shortages loom in bookstores across Kyiv when stock runs low, the underlying infrastructure of Ukrainian publishing continues to fight for survival against ongoing bombardment.
