UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Jul. 10 — Ukrainian investigators have identified the organizers of the Russian missile attack on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region that killed 59 people on Oct. 5, 2023, reported Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office.

The village of Hroza is located in northeastern Kharkiv oblast and belongs to the Kupiansk district. About 330 residents lived there before the Russian attack.

On Oct. 5, 2023, Russian forces launched an Iskander-M missile at a cafe where Hroza’s locals had gathered to mourn a Ukrainian soldier killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. The attack killed 59 people, including a 6-year-old boy, and injured seven others.

Later, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office reported that two brothers from Hroza, whose names authorities did not disclose at the time, may have been connected to the attack on the village.

According to investigators, both brothers joined Russian occupation police after Russia occupied Hroza in 2022 and fled to Russia after Ukrainian forces liberated the village. 

Prosecutors said both brothers regularly communicated with locals of Hroza. Before the attack, the older brother allegedly collected information about the funeral ceremony and passed it to his Russian handlers.

Today, Ukrainian investigators said they had identified Russian military officials allegedly responsible for the attack on Hroza, including Rear Adm. Alexey Petrushin, Vice Adm. Sergey Pinchuk, Col. Gen. Alexey Kim, Col. Dmitry Kozlovsky, commander of the Missile Forces, and Col. Ivan Petrov. 

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Petrushin received information about the funeral. Following his report, Pinchuk proposed launching a missile strike. 

Kim made the final decision, while Kozlovsky managed the operation, and the 119th Missile Brigade under the command of Petrov carried out the launch of the missiles at Hroza.  

All five servicemen have been charged of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder committed by a group of individuals acting in concert.

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