At 10:27am on 23 May, the Russian military fired four S-300 rockets at the Faktor-Druck printing press in Kharkiv. The first one hit the ground just outside the press, blasting a crater into the earth, which is now filled with water. The second rocket hit a book-sewing machine, a clunky but sophisticated piece of equipment essential for book-binding.
Five days after the attack, sun streams into the shop through the wrecked roof and walls. A woman in a coat with the printing press’s logo is sweeping the makeshift path that trails through the mounds of paper. Her eyes are motionless and empty, as if she is cleaning her house after a funeral. But it’s not over yet — only two of the victims have been buried. The remains of the five others who died in the strike are still in the morgue, waiting for DNA test results to come back.