51 killed as Russian missile strikes gathering in Ukrainian village

A Russian missile slammed into a restaurant and grocery retailer in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing 51 individuals throughout a gathering to mourn a fallen Ukrainian soldier, Ukrainian officers stated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated the incident was a deliberate assault on civilians and “no blind strike”.

Large piles of bricks, shattered steel and constructing supplies remained the place the cafe and store had been hit early within the afternoon in Hroza village in Kharkiv area.

The assault was the deadliest within the Kharkiv area since Russia’s invasion greater than 19 months in the past, a regional official instructed public broadcaster Suspilne. It additionally seemed to be one of many greatest civilian demise tolls in any single Russian strike.

Regional police instructed nationwide tv the demise toll stood at 51, with six injured and three lacking. Some of them had been mourners gathering within the cafe after a service for a fallen soldier from the village.

“A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” Zelenskiy stated in his nightly video deal with, delivered whereas attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain.

“Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike.”

Moscow didn’t instantly touch upon the occasions in Hroza. Moscow denies intentionally focusing on civilians, however many have been killed in assaults which have hit residential areas in addition to vitality, defence, port, grain and different services.

The village was close to the city of Kupiansk, recaptured by Ukrainian forces late final yr and near one of many warfare’s entrance strains.

Zelenskiy stated a six-year-old boy was among the many lifeless and regional officers stated households had remained within the village regardless of a war-time order to evacuate.

TAKING AWAY THE DEAD

Rescue staff made their manner by way of mounds of particles and laid out our bodies in a subject subsequent to a kids’s playground.

Some had been positioned in white physique baggage and brought away. Others had been barely lined by carpets or different supplies, with palms awkwardly protruding.

“It’s difficult to talk about this, but we only found bits and pieces and remains of the bodies,” stated regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov.

“We’ll use DNA laboratories to identify the bodies.”

The missile hit throughout a service marking the reburial in his residence village of a soldier who had died in motion elsewhere.

“There were only civilians. The boy was from this village. When he died, we were under occupation. The (family) decided to rebury him, to bring him home,” stated resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi.

“Then this happened. Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop.”

Mukhovatyi stated his mom, brother, and sister-in-law had been among the many lifeless.

Prosecutors instructed public broadcaster Suspilne that the son of the soldier present process reburial — additionally a soldier — was additionally killed within the assault, together with the son’s spouse and mom.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko stated native officers had been sitting down for a meal when the missile struck.

“From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy,” Klymenko instructed Ukrainian tv.

Klymenko cited preliminary info that he stated confirmed the assault was carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile.

He stated the strike was clearly focused and that Ukrainian safety companies had launched an investigation into the matter.

“The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties,” stated Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

“There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.”

Russia has continuously carried out air strikes because the begin of its invasion. Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive within the south and east that it says is progressively making progress.

Published On:

Oct 6, 2023