The Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, collected evidence and on April 14 reported that four russian officers had been notified of suspicion for their role in the strike on Ukraine’s largest printing house — the Kharkiv-based “Faktor-Druk” — on May 23, 2024. Seven civilians were killed and nine others were injured in the attack.
Who are the suspects
Kim Aleksey Rostislavovich (born September 21, 1958) is a colonel general, chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Joint Group of Forces of the armed forces of the russian federation. He was responsible for overall planning and command of combat operations, approved strike plans, and signed combat orders. On April 3, he received an additional notice of suspicion for a strike on central Sumy that killed at least 35 people.
Monetov Sergey Petrovich (born August 10, 1970) is a colonel, chief of intelligence — deputy chief of staff for intelligence of the intelligence directorate of the headquarters of the Joint Group of Forces of the armed forces of the russian federation. He gathered and reported intelligence on potential targets, including sites in Kharkiv, and passed it to Kim for approval.
Peshkov Aleksandr Igorevich (born October 13, 1972) is a vice admiral, head of the Joint Planning and Fire Coordination Center — deputy commander of the Joint Group of Forces for fire operations. He received instructions from Kim to prepare the strike plan for “Faktor-Druk,” tasked subordinates with detailing it, and reported back.
Tsyganov Andrey Anatolievich (born January 23, 1970) is a lieutenant general, head of the Air and Missile Defense Directorate of the Joint Group of Forces of the armed forces of the russian federation. He received instructions from Peshkov to prepare and carry out the strike, personally commanded the forces and assets of Special Tactical Missile Group No. 3, and relayed combat orders to specific units.
Circumstances of the crime
Special Tactical Missile Group No. 3 was formed on the basis of the 568th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when russian forces adapted S-300 and S-400 air defense systems for ground strikes. After testing in March 2022, the use of 5V55 missiles at ranges of up to 90 km and 48N6 missiles at up to 150 km was approved.
On May 23, 2024, personnel of this unit launched three 5V55 missiles from an S-300 system at “Faktor-Druk” from positions near the settlements of Stroitel, Gremyache, Shliakhove, and Sheino in Belgorod region, russia.
This facility was Ukraine’s largest full-cycle printing complex. It specialized in publishing educational and methodological materials, including school textbooks, workbooks, teaching aids, university materials, as well as works by contemporary Ukrainian authors and reprints of classical literature. Its production capacity reached up to 50 million books, 100 million magazines, and 300 million newspapers annually.
The strike caused extensive material and infrastructure damage, significantly disrupting the enterprise’s operations.
The investigation established that the strike was carried out based on intelligence provided by Monetov to Kim. Kim then forwarded an approved list of targets to the fire planning center, whose head, Peshkov, instructed Tsyganov to prepare the strike and place the missile systems on standby. Tsyganov relayed the combat orders to the units of Special Tactical Missile Group No. 3 through command posts.
Suspicion
All four — Kim, Monetov, Peshkov, and Tsyganov — have been notified of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war).
Criminal proceedings were registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under No. 12024221140000607 dated May 23, 2024.
