A peaceful village in northeastern Ukraine was transformed into a scene of utter devastation on Thursday after a Russian missile strike targeted a local grocery store and café, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest single attacks of the war.
The atrocity occurred in the small village of Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, as residents gathered for a memorial service. The Russian Iskander ballistic missile struck without warning, obliterating the single-storey building where villagers had congregated.
Emergency services worked through the night, using bulldozers to clear the rubble in a desperate search for survivors. The scale of destruction was so complete that identification of the victims proved immensely challenging, with officials resorting to DNA testing.
A Community Shattered
President Volodymyr Zelensky, attending a European summit in Spain, condemned the attack as a "demonstrably brutal crime" and "an act of genocide." The strike wiped out a significant portion of the village's population, with one resident tragically losing eight family members.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko revealed the attack specifically targeted a ceremonial gathering, making the high death toll particularly shocking. Six children were among those orphaned by the massacre, their parents killed in the blast.
International Condemnation and Response
The United Nations Human Rights Office expressed horror at the attack, while European Council President Charles Michel denounced the "heinous killing of civilians." The British Foreign Office condemned the strike as "horrifying," accusing Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure.
This tragedy underscores the continuing pattern of Russian aggression against civilian areas, coming just as Western leaders debate further military support for Ukraine's defence efforts.
