Russian attack destroys one of Ukraine's largest vodka plants

One of Ukraine’s largest vodka plants was destroyed beyond repair after Russia attacked Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Aug. 27.

The  Khortytsia Distillery, launched in 2003 by Global Spirits, a Ukrainian firm headquartered in the U.S., was hit four times, sparking a three-hour-long fire, the company’s press service told Ukrainian media outlet NV.

Some of the products were completely destroyed by the fire, while others partially melted, the company said. In total, around 3 million to 4 million bottles of spirits were lost, on which the company had already paid excise taxes.

The Kyiv Independent reached out to Global Spirits, but did not hear back by time of publication.

The multi-award-winning distillery is one of the main businesses for Global Spirits, which also owns a major cognac plant in Odesa. The company describes Khortytsia as the most high-tech distillery in Eastern Europe and one of the largest globally, with 16 bottles produced every second and 500 employees.

The company, whose owner, Yevhen Cherniak, is one of Ukraine’s richest people, signed a deal in 2022 to move half of Khortytsia’s production to Rivne in western Ukraine due to Zaporizhzhia’s proximity to the front line, Bloomberg reported in 2022.

It’s not the first time Global Spirits has been targeted by a Russian attack, as Moscow stepped up strikes on Ukrainian businesses over the summer. On July 19, the company’s main warehouse was severely damaged in an attack, costing Global Spirits Hr 100 million ($2.2 million) in lost products.

"During the years of war, our company has repeatedly suffered attacks on warehouses, offices, and production facilities. However, despite everything, we have not lost the main thing — the ability to move forward, preserve jobs, pay taxes, and support the economy of Ukraine," the company wrote in a Facebook post after the July 19 attack.

The economic war has intensified in recent months, with Ukraine striking Russian oil facilities and e-commerce centers, and Moscow launching a mass campaign against retailers, shopping malls, supermarkets, ports, steel producers, gas stations, and postal services.

A Russian attack on a shopping mall in Kryvyi Rih in the middle of the day on Aug. 21 killed least 16 people and injured 130 others, including 23 children. A similar attack destroyed a shopping and entertainment center in the outskirts of the city of Dnipro overnight on Aug. 25.

During the attack on Zaporizhzhia on Aug. 27, Russian missile also damaged the Zaporizhstal steel plant belonging to Metinvest, Ukraine's largest metallurgy company, taking the plant offline.

The scale and intensity of Russian drone and missile attacks have slowed the country’s economic growth this year.

Nevertheless, businesses are adapting, including by moving storage to a diversified network of warehouses so stocks aren’t wiped out in a single attack.