UKRAINE, KHARKIV, May 24 — The missile attack on the Factor Druk printing house in Kharkiv on May 23 may reduce the publishing market’s capacity by 40%, said Serhii Polituchyi, the printing house’s owner.

“With the destruction of our printing house, the total capacity will decrease by at least 30-40%.” said Polituchyi.

Russia attacks Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city 19 miles from the state border, and its suburbs frequently — even more so since the beginning of their new ground offensive from north and northeast of the Kharkiv region on May 10. 

According to Serhii Polituchy, restoring the printing house may take over four months, and relocation to safer regions is expensive.

“Most printing capacities are concentrated in Kharkiv. I don’t know for sure, but if we’re talking about book printing, I think at least 85-90% of all books that are printed in Ukraine are printed in Kharkiv — at our printing house, as well as at our partners’, our colleagues’ in the industry,” he said.

The Russian missile attack on a printing house on May 23 killed seven and injured 21 people. It was one of the largest printing houses in Eastern Europe. 

After the Russian shelling of a printing house in Kharkiv, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the allies to provide Ukraine with seven Patriot air defense systems. 

“This heinous attack must remind everyone around the world that Ukraine still urgently needs seven “Patriot” systems. Every day of delay and debate not only costs lives but also brings the possibility of a larger war in Europe closer,” he wrote.

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  • On the morning of May 23, Russian troops attacked Liubotyn, a city 13 miles from Kharkiv, with S-300 and S-400 missiles, damaging the railway station, Gwara Media reports from the site.