UN admits Russia behind deadly strike on village of Hroza in Kharkiv region

Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, told this to journalists in Geneva, Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.

"Today, we are publishing a report into the events of October 5 that concludes there are reasonable grounds to believe that the missile was launched by Russian armed forces," Throssell said.

She added that "there was no indication of military personnel or any other legitimate military targets at or adjacent to the café at the time of the attack."

According to Reuters, the findings were published in a report based on two fact-finding missions to Hroza by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), where it interviewed 35 people, including local residents, witnesses, two survivors, medical staff and morgue employees.

The report says that those killed – 36 women, 22 men and an eight-year-old boy - were all civilians, attending the reception after the funeral and re-burial of a local man who was a member of the Ukrainian armed forces. The blast completely destroyed the café and a small shop.

As a result of the missile strike, 15 families lost two or more family members. In many cases, identification relied on DNA tests of bodily remains.

"The report says that the Russian armed forces either failed to do everything feasible to verify that the target was a military objective, or deliberately targeted civilians or civilian objects. Either scenario would be in violation of international humanitarian law," the UN human rights office said in a press release.

The UN urged the Russian Federation "to conduct a full and transparent investigation to hold those responsible to account and to take measures to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future," the press release said.

The report was prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights through the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and released on Tuesday.

According to Ukrainian law enforcement officials, the Russians hit the cafe with an Iskander-M missile. Its debris was removed from the scene of the tragedy.

The UN sent a group of experts to the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region.

Photo: Ukraine's State Emergency Service