Russia destroyed millions of books in Ukraine before the school year, leaving pupils without textbooks

About 12 million books and textbooks in Ukraine were destroyed over the summer, just as children prepared to return to school, according to the report.

The destruction has added books and educational materials to the list of Ukrainian targets described in the report, alongside residential buildings, energy infrastructure and warehouses. The losses mean pupils are returning to classrooms without the textbooks they need.

Ukraine's culture minister described the attacks as an existential war against the country's national identity. The account presents the damage to books not simply as a loss of school supplies, but as part of a broader assault on Ukrainian cultural life.