Kharkiv Oblast cafe in ruins after Russian missile strike claims 51 lives, wounds 7

The Russian missile launched a missile attack on a grocery store in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced. 51 people have been confirmed dead at this stage.

"A demonstrably brutal Russian crime – a missile attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate act of terrorism. Kupyansk district in Kharkiv Oblast. As of this time, more than 48 people are known to have died," he wrote at the time.

Now, the bodies of 50 dead people, including a six-year-old boy, have been recovered from the rubble, Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration added.

Assistance is provided to the wounded. On the spot, rescuers are sorting out the debris.

The regional authorities clarified that a cafe and a shop were destroyed as a result of a missile attack on the village. In addition to the 51 dead, it is known that six people were injured, including a child.

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, said on the air of the national telethon that at the time of the missile attack, a memorial service was held in the village for a deceased fellow villager in the destroyed cafe. 57 people were pulled out from under the rubble, of which 50 died and 7 were injured. Rescuers believe that there were a little more than 60 people in total at the site of impact.

The Security Service is also on site, checking local residents. According to Klymenko, the missile strike was very accurate. There is a possibility that it was spotted by a local. The village of Hroza is very small, with population just over 300 people.

In the afternoon, the aggressor also carried out five airstrikes on the Beryslav district, Kherson Oblast. At least one guided bomb hit the city hospital: the third floor was destroyed there, another one was partially destroyed.