Bodies of all 19 victims of Epicenter attack identified in Kharkiv - search operations completed

According to Ukrinform, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced this in a message on Telegram.

"Search operations in the construction hypermarket in Kharkiv have been completed. The police have identified all 19 bodies of those killed as a result of Russian airstrikes carried out by the Russian military on Saturday, 25 May," Klymenko said.

According to him, "it was not easy" - the victims were searched for around the clock among the ashes with the help of special equipment, and were quickly identified with the help of a DNA laboratory.

"Forensic experts conducted more than 100 tests. The police were approached by 16 relatives of the missing persons who provided biological samples for examination. We also engaged dog handlers - a sniffer dog found one body and one fragment. I am grateful to everyone for their work," the minister added.

He informed that "12 men and 7 women died as a result of the strikes on an ordinary hypermarket in Kharkiv". "Among the victims are a 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. Another 54 people were injured," Klymenko added.

As Ukrinform reported, Russia launched an air strike on the Epicenter hypermarket in the Kyiv district of Kharkiv on 25 May.