A single Russian attack destroyed one-third of Ukraine’s annual book print volume

A Russian attack on Kharkiv on Aug. 1 caused a large fire at RNK-Ranok’s automated logistics center. According to approximate figures released by the company, the attack destroyed 8 million book copies representing 28,000 titles, including 600,000 school textbooks intended for delivery to Ukrainian schools by Sept. 1. Preliminary losses were estimated at around 1 billion hryvnias (approximately USD 22.4 million).

“Two jet-powered drones struck the same location. This means it was a deliberately planned attack by those bastards to destroy textbooks and Ukrainian books,” RNK-Ranok CEO Victor Kruglov said.

The fire covered approximately 10,000 square meters. No employees were injured. One employee who could not initially be reached was later confirmed to be safe. Workers took shelter after the first strike, the company said.

The automated center was a key part of RNK-Ranok’s distribution system. It stored books published by Ranok, Fabula, Readberry, Korali Books, and other companies within the publishing group, as well as stock used by the KnyhoLand bookstore chain. Books were dispatched from the facility to schools, libraries, bookstores, and readers across Ukraine. Other companies whose books were stored at the center included Zhorzh, One More Page, Varvar Publishing, Osnova, Svoie, Kenguru, and 4mamas.

The attack forced RNK-Ranok and KnyhoLand to temporarily suspend the processing and dispatch of online orders. KnyhoLand’s physical bookstores continued operating, and the company encouraged readers wishing to support the affected businesses to buy books at its stores.

A warehouse used by Ukrainian board game publisher Rozum was also destroyed. The company said it was assessing its losses and warned that the destruction would affect its immediate plans and order fulfillment schedules. It nevertheless pledged to restore operations and continue producing board games.

Before the Aug. 1 attack, Ranok had already sustained more than 60 million hryvnias (approximately USD 1.34 million) in losses since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Kruglov told Chytomo in June 2026. The company had reorganized its operations and distributed books and paper across several warehouses because it considered no single location in Ukraine entirely safe.

Ranok’s infrastructure has been struck repeatedly. A Russian missile-and-drone attack overnight on May 13–14 damaged one of the publisher’s logistics centers and a warehouse operated by its affiliated publisher One More Page, disrupting distribution and delaying online orders. Another attack on May 24 damaged Ranok’s Kyiv office.

On July 2, a Russian attack damaged the Megapolihraf printing house while it was producing Ranok books and school textbooks. Equipment, paper, semi-finished materials, and newly printed textbooks were damaged. The same attack destroyed approximately 800,000 books belonging to BookChef at a warehouse operated by its logistics partner.

Ranok also lost educational materials in Russia’s May 2024 attack on the Factor Druk printing complex in Kharkiv. The strike destroyed 84,000 copies of a German-language textbook for seventh-grade students, which Ranok later arranged to reprint at other Ukrainian printing houses.

As reported earlier, Russia intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s publishing infrastructure in July 2026. A missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv overnight on July 18–19 destroyed or damaged around 850,000 books, devastated the Konvi printing facility, destroyed a warehouse belonging to #knygolove and the office of the newly established Mison publishing house, and damaged the Arc.ua office.

On July 24, the government announced support mechanisms for publishing and printing businesses affected that month. Printing houses may apply for grants of up to 16 million hryvnias (approximately USD 358,000) to restore equipment damaged or destroyed by Russian attacks, while a war-risk insurance program provides compensation of up to 30 million hryvnias (approximately USD 671,000) for damaged property. The Aug. 1 attack on RNK-Ranok occurred after those measures were announced.

Over the past four years, an average of around 25 million book copies were published annually in Ukraine. Russian attacks destroyed more than 1.5 million Ukrainian book copies in July alone. This means that this summer alone, Ukraine has lost more than one-third of its annual book output.

Main image: Ihor Zarudko