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Key Points
- Ukrainian officials said a Russian missile hit a cafe in the northeastern Ukraine village of Hroza.
- At least 51 people were killed in the blast, which took place during a memorial service.
- The attack was the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began more than 19 months ago.
The attack was the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Russia’s invasion more than 19 months ago, a regional official told public broadcaster Suspilne. It also appeared to be one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike.
Local residents at the site of a military strike in the village of Hroza. Source: EPA / Yavik Lyashenko
“This settlement has about 330 people,” regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on national television, compared to 500 before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The village was near the town of Kupiansk, recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year and quite close one of the war’s front lines.
Emergency services working at the site of a military strike in the village of Hroza. Source: EPA / Pavlo Pakhomenko
Rescue workers made their way through mounds of debris and laid out bodies in a field next to a children’s playground.
A spokesman for regional emergency services said on Telegram the search for survivors had been concluded with the death toll standing at 51 dead and six injured.
A view of a damaged car as rescue works continue at the site of a military strike in the village of Hroza. Source: EPA / Yavik Lyashenko
“We heard the explosion and then people said it happened in Hroza so we came because we knew my mother was here,” Valeriia Herasymenko said as rescue efforts proceeded. “A memorial service was being held in the cafe.”
Missile hits during memorial service
“From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy,” Klymenko told Ukrainian television.
“There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was attending a summit with European leaders in Spain, said the attack was “no blind strike” and Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were striking.
Moscow did not immediately comment on the events in Hroza. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but civilians have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities.
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