UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Sep. 29 — Kharkiv prosecutors have completed the pretrial investigation and referred to court the case of four Russian military personnel accused of a missile attack on the Faktor-Druk printing house in Kharkiv, the Kharkiv regional Prosecutor’s Office said.

In April, law enforcement named four Russian commanders who organized and provided the attack, including Alexey Kim, colonel general, who issued a direct combat order to attack Faktor-Druk; Andrey Tsygankov, head of the Russian Air Defense staff, who provided missile systems; vice admiral Alexandr Peshkov, who was responsible for target selection and coordination; and colonel Sergey Monetov, head of intelligence staff, who provided information about civilian target.

All four defendants have been placed on the wanted list. Their actions have been classified as a violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder by a group of individuals acting in concert.

The court of the Osnovianskyi district of Kharkiv will hold hearings of the case.

On May 23, 2024, Russia damaged Faktor-Druk, the biggest printing complex in Ukraine, with S-300 missiles launched from the Belgorod oblast. The attack killed seven employees of the printing house and injured 21. 

The attack burned down 50,000 books. Faktor-Druk provided printing services for most Ukrainian publishing houses.

This summer, the Russians continued to attack Ukrainian publishing houses. One of the largest attacks took place on Aug. 1, when a Russian airstrike hit the Ranok publishing house warehouse in Kharkiv and destroyed around 8 million books in a fire.

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