53 killed in Russian missile strike on Hroza identified, 5 more missing
Pravda Ukraine
Forensic experts have identified 53 people killed in the Russian missile strike on the village of Hroza in Kupiansk district of Kharkiv Oblast. The number of casualties may still rise.
Source: Serhii Bolvinov, Head of the Kharkiv Police Investigation Department, at a briefing on 10 October, quoted by Suspilne
Quote Bolvinov: “As of now, we have identified 53 people who were killed. Therefore, we can say that today the number of dead has increased. Given the still unidentified body parts and missing persons statements, the final number may increase further.”
Details: The police spokesman noted that police received a total of 22 missing persons reports. All applications were worked through.
“Four statements were not confirmed because we found people. We identified 13 of them among the corpses. Five are now missing,” said Bolvinov.
According to Bolvinov, forensic scientists conducted 288 DNA tests.
Quote: “We are collecting the remains of civilians without a break. From the first minute, despite the difficult psychological conditions, we collected the remains of those killed in the village of Hroza and identified these people. Mutilated bodies had to be collected in pieces. We examined 135 remains. We are still doing it. DNA laboratories have been working around the clock for the fifth day. Forensic experts and investigators too.”
Background:
- On 5 October, the Russians attacked a cafe in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, as a wake for a fallen soldier was taking place there.
- Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the strike was so precise that it is suspected that the attack was guided by a local resident.
- As of 6 October, 52 people were reported killed. Among the dead are the widow and son of the soldier for whom the wake was being held after his reburial in his home village.
- Russian forces may have struck the Hroza cafe thinking that Ukrainian soldiers were there, but those present were all civilians, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office noted.
- Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian Federation’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said at a meeting of the Security Council on Monday 9 October that the funeral of a “high-ranking Ukrainian nationalist” was being held in the village of Hroza.
Read also: Young couple killed in Russian missile strike on Hroza: details of tragedy
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