Russia's Ukraine war causes massive book loss and lowest public support for conflict

A Russian drone and missile attack on a warehouse in Kharkiv, Ukraine, ignited a fire that destroyed about eight million books, the publisher Ranok said. Ranok director Viktor Kruglov called the incident “an attack against Ukrainian education and culture.” The strike follows a previous bombing near Kyiv that reduced a collection of 800,000 books to ash.

At the same time, a series of Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s energy and logistics infrastructure has driven public backing for the war down to a record low. A Levada Center poll of 1,612 respondents in 137 Russian cities, conducted 21‑28 July, found only 66 % of Russians still support the war, down from 74 % in May and far below the 80 % peak early in the conflict. The survey noted rising fuel shortages and price spikes as additional pressures on the Russian population.