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On holiday celebrating Ukrainian language, Russia strikes publisher's warehouse in Kharkiv

• 2 min read
On holiday celebrating Ukrainian language, Russia strikes publisher's warehouse in Kharkiv
Photo for illustrative purposes. Burnt old photos and books remain in an apartment damaged by a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 10, 2025. (Oleksandr Gusev/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Planned book releases from Ukrainian publishing house and bookstore chain KSD, scheduled to begin in November, have been delayed after Russia struck the company's warehouse in Kharkiv, the publisher announced on Oct. 27.

The announcement coincides with the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language, a national holiday celebrating the Ukrainian language and the country's literary heritage.

"Fortune was not on our side today," KSD wrote.

KSD has not yet assessed the full extent of the damage to its warehouse stock and has shared only that no employees were injured during the attack.

The disruption to KSD's planned releases is the latest blow to Ukraine's book industry, which has endured repeated Russian strikes on printing facilities and warehouses since the start of the full-scale war.

Russian strikes destroyed more than 13 million books over the past summer alone.

KSD urged people who want to show their support to buy books in their stores or order them online from their website, a trend that has grown since Russian attacks on the book industry intensified.

"Every book purchased, every order placed, and every choice you make is a significant contribution to our shared endeavor — and it enables us to continue creating, publishing, and sharing with you stories that inspire and stay in your heart," KSD wrote.

The Culture Ministry announced a $500,000 fundraising initiative on Sept. 21 for grants that would aid independent Ukrainian publishers struggling with massive financial losses after Russian attacks destroyed 13 million books over the summer.

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Kate Tsurkan

Culture Reporter

Kate Tsurkan is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent who writes mostly about culture-related topics. Her newsletter Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan, which focuses specifically on Ukrainian culture, is published weekly by the Kyiv Independent and is partially supported by a generous grant from the Nadia Sophie Seiler Fund. Kate co-translated Oleh Sentsov’s “Diary of a Hunger Striker,” Myroslav Laiuk’s “Bakhmut,” Andriy Lyubka’s “War from the Rear,” and Khrystia Vengryniuk’s “Long Eyes,” among other books. Some of her previous writing and translations have appeared in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Harpers, the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine and, in addition to Ukrainian and Russian, also knows French.

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