HROZA, Ukraine — A Russian missile attack killed 51 in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, on Thursday October 5 in what would be one of the fatal attacks against civilians since the Russia-Ukraine war started.
A Russian missile attack killed dozens of people, including a minor, in a village close to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Thursday, October 5.
The strike marks one of the fatal attacks meted on civilians registered by Ukraine since the onset of the conflict, and it happened without a conceivable military plan.
The missile attack hit the small town of Hroza that is a village, which has a population of only about 300 residents. The attack targeted a grocery store as well as a cafe at about midday local time.
“The bodies of at least 51 people killed by the strike, including a 6-year-old boy, were removed from the destroyed buildings throughout the day,” said Oleh Syniehubov, a regional military official. According to Oleh, the death toll in such a small community implies that one of every six residents was killed.
Ukraine officials say there was no military target during the attack. “There was not “a single military object” in Hroza when the missile struck, and all the victims were civilians,” said the chief investigator with Kharkiv’s regional police. “The attack would be used as evidence in a war crimes case against Russia’s military,” he noted.
In another rejoinder, Maria Adeeva who is a research director at European Expert Association in Ukraine noted that the attack was well planned.
“Russians knew that all those people were there and they precisely attacked this building,” said Adeeva.
“A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” said president Zelensky in his nightly video address. Zelensky is currently attending European Political Community Summit in Spain.
“Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike,” he further reiterated.
Presidents Zelensky of Ukraine and U.S.’ Joe Biden administrations have called for more US aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underscored the need to have more air defenses from allies, such as United States.
However, EU downplayed the talks of weighing in through supporting Ukraine. “Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
Edited by Judy J. Rotich and Newsdesk Manager
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