Ukraine names five Russian officers involved in 2023 attack on memorial dinner in Hroza which killed 59 people – video
Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have identified five Russian military officers responsible for the 2023 missile strike on a café in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, which killed 59 local residents.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
Quote: "The investigation has identified the specific Russian military personnel involved in planning and carrying out the missile strike.
According to the investigation, Rear Admiral Alexei Petrushin, Head of Intelligence, received information about the civilians' location.
Following this report, Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk proposed launching a missile strike.
The final decision was made by Colonel General Alexei Kim, Chief of Staff.
The operation was coordinated by Colonel Dmitry Kozlovsky, Deputy Head of the Missile Forces, while the missile was launched by personnel of the 119th Missile Brigade under the command of Colonel Ivan Petrov."
Details: All five have been served with notices of suspicion in absentia on charges of violating the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder committed by a group acting in prior conspiracy.
To identify those responsible, investigators carried out more than 180 forensic examinations, inspected the scene, conducted 3D scans, analysed missile fragments, reconstructed the missile's flight path and identified the launch site.
Earlier, Ukrainian investigators concluded that the coordinates of the civilian target had been passed to Russian forces by two local residents, who subsequently fled to Russia.
Background:
- On 5 October 2023, Russian forces struck a café and shop in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, where a memorial gathering for a deceased Ukrainian serviceman was taking place.
- Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at the time that the strike had been so precise that investigators suspected someone from the local community had directed it.
- Prosecutors in Kharkiv Oblast later said Russian forces may have believed Ukrainian military personnel were present at the café, but only civilians were there.
- Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, claimed the strike targeted the funeral of what he described as a "high-ranking Ukrainian nationalist".
- By 10 October 2023, forensic experts had identified 53 of the victims. The final death toll reached 59 local residents, including an eight-year-old child.
Subscribe on Patreon to back our journalism long-term.