Ukraine has reported one of the deadliest incidents in the ongoing conflict, with a Russian missile strike causing the deaths of at least 51 people, including a child.
The strike occurred in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Thursday. It targeted a cafe and shop in Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, shortly after midday local time, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
After the strike, scenes unfolded with emergency workers sifting through the extensive rubble. Medical professionals are treating six people injured in the attack. The bodies of the deceased, including a 6-year-old boy, were recovered from the destroyed buildings, as reported by Oleh Synehubov, a regional military official.
The Ukrainian interior minister indicated that 29 victims have been identified, with the remaining bodies taken to facilities in the city of Kharkiv.
The village store was occupied by local residents when the missile struck, leading to devastation not seen since a previous attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk in early 2022, which claimed the lives of over 60 people.
Tragically, the village cafe was hosting a wake for a fallen Ukrainian soldier when the missile struck, resulting in the loss of several members of the soldier’s family, according to Dmytro Chubenko, spokesperson for the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
The fallen Ukrainian soldier had previously been buried in the city of Dnipro, but his relatives had wanted him reburied in his hometown. Chubenko explained, “The wake was attended by the son of the deceased, who was also a soldier. The son, along with his wife and mother, were in a cafe and were killed by a rocket.”
The attack has reportedly devastated about one-fifth of the village’s population, which was home to 330 people.
A similar attack occurred in the nearby town of Pervomaiske, where people were also paying their respects to a fallen soldier, according to Chubenko. He noted, “His fellow soldiers were present then. Today, there were only civilians at the site of the attack.”
The missile used in the attack has been identified as an Iskander missile, known for its relatively short range and carrying a warhead of between 500 and 700 kilograms. These missiles have been frequently used by Russian forces against Ukraine, resulting in significant civilian casualties.