Russian strike burns 8 million books in Ukraine: publisher
A Russian missile and drone strike on a warehouse in Kharkiv, Ukraine, destroyed eight million books, including children's textbooks. The publisher, Ranok, described the event as a deliberate attack on Ukrainian education and culture.
Why it matters
The destruction of cultural and educational infrastructure is a significant aspect of the ongoing conflict, drawing international condemnation.
A Russian strike on a warehouse in northeastern Ukraine over the weekend destroyed eight million books, the publishing house said on Monday (August 3, 2026), slamming it as an attack on Ukrainian culture.
It is not the first time Russia has struck a major publishing centre, drawing accusations from Kyiv that Moscow was specifically targeting them.
"This is the largest loss to Ukraine's book infrastructure since the beginning of the full-scale war" in 2022, the publisher, Ranok, said.
An AFP reporter on Saturday (August 1, 2026) saw firefighters battling to contain the blaze at the warehouse in Kharkiv hours after Russia launched a drone and missile attack.
"More than 8 million books have been destroyed in the fire, among them textbooks for children," Ranok said in a statement on social media.
"The blaze is still raging. The enemy is trying to burn out our education and culture," it added.
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