Dead bodies lie on the ground outside of a destroyed village shop and café in Hroza,Ukraine.Credit:Getty
The attack was the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Russia’s invasion more than 19 months ago,a regional official told public broadcaster Suspilne. It also appeared to be one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike.
“This settlement has about 330 people,” regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on national television,compared to 500 before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“In fact,one-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack.”
Synehubov said children were among the casualties as their families had remained in the village despite a wartime order to evacuate. The village was near the town of Kupiansk,recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year and quite close one of the war’s front lines. The wake was being held in the cafe.
Dead bodies lie on the ground outside of a destroyed village shop and café in Hroza,Ukraine.Credit:Getty
Rescue workers made their way through mounds of debris and laid out bodies in a field next to a children’s playground.
Some were placed in white body bags and taken away. Others were barely covered by carpets or other materials,with hands awkwardly protruding.