Under Russian attack: Buildings of the Sumy State University and the library damaged

During the evening of August 17 and night of August 18, the Russian army attacked the Sumy State University with missiles and drones.

A missile exploded near the main premises of the university with all the windows in the building blown out, and part of the premises unfit for further use. According to Vasyl Karpusha, university chancellor, the new Science Building “N” was damaged the most, as it was also hit by drones after the missile strike.

“This building stood abandoned for quite a long time, but about seven years ago we restored the classrooms, lecture halls, and created a shared equipment usage center. Now we will be moving it to another location. What equipment is the most expensive? The most expensive is the diffractometer, and it costs 5 million hryvnias (about $121,000). Altogether, the equipment here is worth about 20 million,” said senior engineer Olena Tkachenko in an interview with the national public broadcast network Suspilne.

University staff are removing documents and equipment from the damaged buildings. Many rooms inside are filled with debris, shattered glass, and water from firefighting efforts.

The Department of Journalism and Philology was also affected.

Oleh Hryhorov, the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, said there were at least four explosions during the attack. Rescue services and police are working at the site, removing fragments of the munitions used.

Dmytro Tishchenko, head of the CUKR.CITY media outlet, reported that the university library was damaged.

“It’s a pity that students lose the chance to experience the atmosphere of the university. It’s a pity that the teachers and researchers see their laboratories turned into ruins. But it’s good that we adapt and can develop talents in other ways. Everyone will put in effort in their own place to make this happen. We dared to strive for Europe, and we will continue to strive in spite of all their missiles and drones,” he wrote.Suspilne Sumy reported that during the attack the library lost 15,000 books. According to the library director, during the attack on the Congress Center in April 2025, they lost 45,000 books. These were books purchased over the last five or six years, the newest in the collection.

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Images: Suspilne Sumy. SESU

Copy editing: Ben Angel