On the night of October 19, 2026, the premises of the Ivan Fedorov Book Chamber of Ukraine were damaged as a result of a Russian missile strike on Kyiv. RBC-Ukraine reported this, citing Detector Media. According to the institution's director, Olha Vaskivska, two Russian ballistic missiles fell near the building at night, and the blast wave damaged windows in the storage facilities and administrative offices.
Blast Wave Shatters Windows in Storage Facilities
Vaskivska stated that a security guard was inside the building at the time of the attack, but he was not injured; no casualties were reported among the staff. In the morning, the Book Chamber team awaited the arrival of police: staff were instructed not to touch anything until law enforcement arrived, after which the accounting department will begin recording the damage. Photographs published by Detector Media show shattered glass and damaged window frames on the facade.
Archives Under Threat from Moisture
The main danger to the collection is now linked not to the strike itself, but to its aftermath: moisture could enter the storage facilities through the broken windows, and according to the director, there is nowhere else to move the books. "We urgently need to install windows, take some doors, nail up plywood, because the books will absorb moisture. It might rain tomorrow too. Well, overall we are facing a catastrophe," Vaskivska noted, emphasizing that the premises must be urgently sealed against rain and moisture.
Building Damaged Previously
The Book Chamber of Ukraine building was previously damaged by Russian shelling in December 2025 and January 2026. At that time, 15 million units of archival materials were put at risk, making the current incident part of a recurring threat to one of the country's key book repositories.
Scale of the Nighttime Attack on Kyiv
According to RBC-Ukraine, on the night of October 19, Russian forces attacked Kyiv twice with ballistic missiles, also employing cruise missiles and attack drones. Preliminary data indicates that one person was killed and eight others were injured in the strikes; damage was reported at a residential building, a medical center, and the Chernihivska surface metro station, operations of which were suspended indefinitely due to significant track damage. According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, air defense forces shot down or suppressed 247 aerial targets, with impacts recorded at 25 locations and falling debris at eight others.
