{
  "id": 11244710,
  "title": "Russia has destroyed “one third of all the books printed in Ukraine this year.”",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/russia-has-destroyed-one-third-of-all-the-books-printed-in-ukraine",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-01T16:59:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Literary Hub",
    "slug": "literary-hub",
    "url": "https://lithub.com/russia-has-destroyed-one-third-of-all-the-books-printed-in-ukraine-this-year/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 25th, The New York Times reported that Russian drones struck a printing plant near Kyiv, a facility housing millions of children's books. This attack is part of a recent trend of Russian attacks on presses and publishing houses throughout Ukraine, aimed at eroding Ukrainian culture. According to the BBC, Russia has destroyed \"one third of all the books printed in Ukraine this year.\" The Times also noted that Russian shelling may have destroyed \"as many as 15 million new books in recent months.\" This amounts to between one-third and half of Ukraine's annual book production, threatening the nation's literary future. Last week, Ranok Publishing House, one of Ukraine's largest children's book publishers, was targeted. The attack destroyed eight million books in the Ranok warehouse, comprising 28,000 titles, including 620,000 textbooks destined for students. Victims of the fire included comic books, bestsellers, and contemporary Ukrainian fiction. The Ukrainian ministry of culture estimates these losses to be equivalent to a loss of $39.3 million (1.75 billion hryvnias) in damages. Ranok's CEO, Victor Kruglov, told United24 that this aggression is part of a broader strategy to eliminate Ukrainian cultural independence. He claimed that Putin's goal is to \"deliberately damage, erase, extinguish everything which is connected with Ukrainian culture.\" Despite the devastation, Kruglov expressed short-term optimism about rebuilding, noting that Ranok can reprint books and retain its team.",
  "summary": "On September 25, The New York Times reported that Russian drones hit a plant on the edge of Kyiv. That plant was home to a printing press, and millions of children’s books. This attack is but the latest in a",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}