Writing in Times of War: Oleksandr Mykhed on Losing Ukrainian Books to Russian Bombs

In late August, Ukrainian cities face relentless Russian drone and missile attacks, disrupting daily life. Air raid alarms occur frequently—up to 13 times a day, lasting over 14 hours in total. State institutions, schools, and businesses close during alarms, leaving no time for normal activities. Children miss classes, and public services like hospitals stop functioning. Even during daylight, attacks target critical infrastructure, such as a university in Kyiv that was struck by a drone. The constant threat of explosions forces people to live in a state of heightened alert, where survival becomes the primary focus. This prolonged exposure to danger reshapes what is considered 'normal' in these regions, as people adapt to a life where danger is an ever-present reality.

Russian attacks extend beyond military and civilian targets to include cultural and economic assets. Warehouses storing Ukrainian books, food, electronics, and humanitarian aid have been deliberately targeted. For example, a post office facility was hit, destroying a third of an artist’s exhibition bound for Paris. Similarly, warehouses holding books from Ukrainian publishers were attacked, resulting in the loss of over 12 million books. This figure represents nearly half of Ukraine’s annual book production, which ranges between 26 and 30 million copies. The destruction is not limited to physical books but also includes the livelihoods of authors, publishers, and translators who depend on book sales for income.

The loss of books has severe consequences for Ukraine’s literary ecosystem. A friend of the author, who had a debut novel scheduled for release, saw his publisher lose 400,000 books in a single attack. This loss exceeded a year’s worth of sales, forcing publishers to prioritize books with guaranteed profits over debut or experimental works. Small and niche publishers, such as one specializing in translated comics, lost their entire inventory—300,000 copies—destroying years of work. Authors not only lose their published works but also their expected royalties, which are a critical source of income. Without these funds, writers may struggle to continue creating new work, further disrupting the literary chain.

The destruction of books extends beyond individual authors to affect entire publishing houses. One publisher lost 80% of its stock in a single attack, while another saw five of a successful author’s books destroyed overnight. These losses are not just financial but also cultural, as books represent a nation’s intellectual and creative output. The author highlights that the full impact of these attacks will only become clear over time, as the loss of books disrupts the flow of ideas, education, and cultural exchange. The fragility of the logistics chain for books mirrors the broader challenges faced by Ukrainians in maintaining normalcy under constant threat.

Living under constant threat alters priorities and behaviors. The author describes how exhaustion and sleep deprivation make people numb to the ongoing danger, normalizing a state of alert. This shift affects even cultural activities, such as watching a film. A friend’s experience at a movie theater illustrates this: three air raid alarms during the screening forced the film to be rewound multiple times, turning a simple outing into a disjointed experience. The author emphasizes that the question of what literature and writing mean in wartime is answered by the tangible losses: dead or displaced writers, destroyed publishing houses, and millions of books lost. Yet, despite these challenges, the Ukrainian alphabet and language persist, symbolizing resilience.