Detectives on mission to find traitor who spotted deadly Russian strike on Ukrainian village that killed 53

The investigators have already vetted more than 50 residents of Hroza, the village in Kharkiv region where the Russian missile strike killed 53 people who gathered for a wake in a local café.

That’s’ according to Serhiy Bolvinov, the chief of the National Police Investigative Department in Kharkiv region, Ukrinform reports.

"I cannot officially confirm the report that someone specifically spotted the missile strike. We’re still working on that version," Bolvinov said.

"Urgent investigative actions and searches were carried out on the day of the tragedy and, as of now, this yielded no results, but this investigation is ongoing," Bolvinov added.

In particular, the owner of the cafe destroyed by the missile, who was previously prosecuted for "collaborative activity", was initially in the spotlight of law enforcers.

"One of the urgent searches that we conducted on the same day was in his home. We obtained no information that would confirm his involvement in spotting enemy fire. Therefore, there is no reason to claim that he is involved.

"If the investigation gets additional information about his or anyone else's involvement, we will, of course, check this evidence in due course. But it must also be added that the cafe owner's sister and niece also died in this particular tragedy," Bolvinov said.

A press conference held in Kharkiv regarding the events in the village of Hroza / Photo: Viacheslav Madievskyi, Ukrinform

He added that SBU operatives also deployed in the village to join the probe.

As reported, on October 5, Russian troops launched a missile attack on a café in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv region, where a wake was held for a perished serviceman. Fifty-three people were killed by the strike, including the late soldier’s son, daughter-in-law, and widow. Six more people were seriously injured. According to law enforcement, the Russians hit the cafe with an Iskander-M missile.