UN team to probe Hroza attack, Kyiv says death toll 52

Hroza, October 6

The death toll from an air strike on the village of Hroza in northeastern Ukraine rose to 52 on Friday, with rescue workers scouring the rubble for more bodies after what Kyiv said was one of Moscow’s deadliest attacks on civilians. The latest victim died overnight in hospital, the regional governor said, following an attack in which a missile slammed into a cafe and grocery store on Thursday as people gathered to mourn a fallen Ukrainian soldier.

Kremlin distances self

Vladimir Putin-led Russia has reiterated that it does not attack civilian targets, distancing itself from the strike that resulted in one of the biggest civilian death tolls in the war.

A three-day mourning period was announced in the wider Kharkiv region as villagers cleared grave sites for their relatives and rescuers continued their work at the scene, looking for body parts among piles of bricks, wood and metal.

The Kremlin reiterated on Friday that it does not attack civilian targets, distancing itself from a strike that resulted in one of the biggest civilian death tolls of the more than 19-month-old war.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the missile strike, a UN spokesperson said, noting that “attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure were prohibited under international humanitarian law”. On Friday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights deployed a field team to speak to survivors and gather information, OHCHR spokesperson Elizabeth Throssell said.

Meanwhile, another Russian missile attack killed a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother in Kharkiv. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that in all, 30 people were wounded. Rescue operations were continuing. — Agencies

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