Russian Strike Hits Kyiv Book Market, Injuring Six

KYIV, Ukraine —

A Russian strike hit a central market in Kyiv on Sunday, injuring six people at a site known for selling books and posters, BBC News reported. Firefighters were still working to put out hot spots when BBC Ukraine correspondent Dan Johnson visited the scene.

The strike was part of a wider barrage across Ukraine that killed five people, according to BBC News. Russian officials said seven people were killed in Russia the same day in strikes carried out by Ukraine, BBC News reported.

Targeting Ukrainian Culture

France 24's correspondent in Ukraine, Emmanuelle Chaze, said the strike on the book market amounted to an attack on "Ukrainian culture, the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian identity." Russia has destroyed millions of books in strikes since the start of summer, Chaze said, according to France 24. She said churches and other cultural sites have also come under fire, describing the pattern as an attempt to weaken Ukrainian identity.

A Broader Exchange Of Strikes

The market attack came amid an intensifying exchange of strikes between the two countries. Ukraine has stepped up drone attacks on Russian targets in recent weeks, including warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online marketplace, Deutsche Welle reported. Ukrainian officials say the warehouses have been used to move military supplies, a claim the Kremlin has repeatedly denied, according to Deutsche Welle. An analysis by the independent outlet Verska found tens of thousands of military and dual use goods sold through the platform between May and August, Deutsche Welle reported.

In Kyiv, residents have increasingly turned to social media channels that track incoming Russian drones and missiles in real time, the Japan Times reported. The administrator of one such channel told the Japan Times that the odds of a missile strike on the capital on a given night have recently run close to 50 percent, forcing residents to weigh the risk much the way they might check a weather app, but with far less warning and far higher stakes.