{
  "id": 12186894,
  "title": "Russia burned 628,000 new school textbooks in Kharkiv at the peak of back-to-school season",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/russia-burned-628-000-new-school-textbooks-in-kharkiv-at-the-peak-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-05T16:14:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Euromaidan Press",
    "slug": "euromaidan-press",
    "url": "https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/10/05/russia-burned-628000-new-school-textbooks-in-kharkiv-at-the-peak-of-back-to-school-season/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At the height of the back-to-school season, Russia burned 628,000 new school textbooks in Kharkiv. Russian missiles and drones destroyed 13 million Ukrainian books this summer, accounting for about a third of all books printed in Ukraine this year, according to The Guardian. Russia targets civilian warehouses, including those where publishers store their books, pushing publishers toward safe international bestsellers. Ranok, a leading publishing house in Ukraine, suffered a devastating strike on August 1, 2024, losing more than 85% of its stock in a single day, including eight million books and 628,000 new school textbooks. The warehouse, covering 10,000 m², was destroyed in a week, with no injuries reported. Publisher Viktor Kruhlov expressed regret, stating that the destruction of the books was an awful feeling, as they represent years of hard work and imagination. Kruhlov also predicted shortages at Ranok's stores, where the remaining stock runs out. Deputy Culture Minister Bohdana Laiuk believes Russia targets warehouses to disrupt everyday life, noting that Russians destroy Ukrainian language books when they occupy areas. The dominance of Russian-language titles in the Ukrainian book market, which once consisted of 70%, is seen by Laiuk as a form of colonialism. Despite the losses, Kruhlov remains optimistic about rebuilding the publishing house better.",
  "summary": "They sat in Ranok's warehouse, built on the site of a former bread factory, with millions of other books. Firefighters fought the blaze for a week.",
  "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."
}