On October 5, 2023, the Russian army shelled the village of Hroza in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.
The strike hit a local café-store, resulting in the deaths of 59 people, including an 8-year-old boy.
The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office reported that nearly half of the local residents who remained in Hroza at that time were killed.
Russian propaganda media manipulated President Zelensky's trip to the EU summit in Spain, framing the shelling of Hroza as a "background for Zelensky's statements about the Russian threat."
"Hroza Village in the Kupiansk District. Mourning services were taking place in the café. As we can see, Zelensky couldn't go to 'Western partners' without a presentation in Spain."
Information Agency "Bloknot":
"On October 5, around 1:15 PM, a café and a shop in the village of Hroza in the Kupiansk district were shelled. Almost immediately, information came in about 49 fatalities. It is noteworthy that the strike occurred while Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking in Granada (Spain), convincing Western countries that Russia poses a threat to the entire world, and therefore, they need to provide funding for weapons to Ukraine. Under similar circumstances, 17 people were killed in early September at a market in Kostiantynivka: a missile strike occurred during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. announced that irrefutable evidence had been found of the murder of civilians by the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
The shelling of Hroza village is a case where Russian propaganda could not decide which version to adhere to. Because alongside the denial of its own guilt, Russian media suggested, referencing "some experts," that the strike could have been carried out by Russia.
"However, some experts believe that the strike was carried out by Russia. This is because 99% of the casualties were men of conscription age. And the grocery store, it is claimed, had long ceased to be a store — it was being used as a base by Ukrainian military personnel. This version is supported by the fact that around 50 people died, indicating that many more were inside the building. Why were nearly a hundred people, most of them men, in a village store on a weekday? To provide context, the population of the village of Hroza is 500. There have never been that many men of conscription age there," suggests "Bloknot."
Statements from official Kremlin figures also varied. They could not come to a definitive agreement on who was in the café: civilians or neo-Nazis?
Some promoted the narrative that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, but it was shelled from the Ukrainian side to blame Russia.
Information Agency "Bloknot":
"Russia commented on the missile strike on Hroza in the Kharkiv region. The statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Federation at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya.
'As you know, at the time of the strike, memorial services were being held for one of the high-ranking Ukrainian nationalists. It is clear that many of his associates — neo-Nazis — were involved. It is no coincidence that in the photographs shared on social media immediately after the strike, almost all the bodies belong to men of conscription age. We have encountered such situations before. The Kyiv regime has wrung its hands over the deaths resulting from strikes on dormitories, cafés, stores, and so on, and then obituaries appeared about the elimination of mercenaries. Such a 'coincidence.' We do not rule out that it will be the same with Hroza,' he commented, without confirming the involvement of the Russian Armed Forces in the attack.
Others, such as the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the strike on Hroza, stated that 'the Armed Forces of Russia do not strike civilian objects in Ukraine but work on military infrastructure.'
Both Russian propaganda and official figures were united in one thing — refusing to admit to the crime until the very end."
"Residents of the village of Hroza gathered that day for a memorial lunch for a fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier. According to the National Police of the Kharkiv region, he died in 2022, was buried in Dnipro, and then reburied in his native village.
'He was not a high-ranking official and did not hold high positions in the Armed Forces. He was a local resident and died near Popasna,' said Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the investigation department of the National Police in Kharkiv region, in a comment to Radio Svoboda. 'All of them died due to a Russian missile. These are ordinary people—pensioners, teachers, medical workers, friends. All the deceased and wounded are civilians. There are no military personnel among the dead or injured,' Bolvinov added.
Later, the SBU established that the spotters for the Russian 'Iskander' missile that hit the village were two local collaborators, brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamony. However, after the de-occupation of the village, they fled to Russia."
The report by the UN Monitoring Mission states that the missile strike on the village of Hroza, which resulted in the deaths of its residents—civilians—was carried out by the Russian army.
"The report was based on information collected and verified by experts from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, who conducted two fact-finding missions in Hroza on October 7 and 10. They examined the explosion site and interviewed 35 individuals, including local residents, witnesses, two survivors, medical personnel, and morgue workers," reports Voice of America.
The aftermath of the strike on the café in the village of Hroza was captured by Ukrainian photographer Yakiv Liashenko from Kharkiv.
"One of the hardest moments during the shoot was when the phone of a deceased person rang. The documents, phones, and belongings we found were gathered in one place," shared Yakiv with UAPP.
On October 5, 2023, the Russian army shelled the village of Hroza in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.
The strike hit a local café-store, resulting in the deaths of 59 people, including an 8-year-old boy.
The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office reported that nearly half of the local residents who remained in Hroza at that time were killed.
Russian propaganda media manipulated President Zelensky's trip to the EU summit in Spain, framing the shelling of Hroza as a "background for Zelensky's statements about the Russian threat."
"Hroza Village in the Kupiansk District. Mourning services were taking place in the café. As we can see, Zelensky couldn't go to 'Western partners' without a presentation in Spain."
Information Agency "Bloknot":
"On October 5, around 1:15 PM, a café and a shop in the village of Hroza in the Kupiansk district were shelled. Almost immediately, information came in about 49 fatalities. It is noteworthy that the strike occurred while Volodymyr Zelensky was speaking in Granada (Spain), convincing Western countries that Russia poses a threat to the entire world, and therefore, they need to provide funding for weapons to Ukraine. Under similar circumstances, 17 people were killed in early September at a market in Kostiantynivka: a missile strike occurred during the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. announced that irrefutable evidence had been found of the murder of civilians by the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
The shelling of Hroza village is a case where Russian propaganda could not decide which version to adhere to. Because alongside the denial of its own guilt, Russian media suggested, referencing "some experts," that the strike could have been carried out by Russia.
"However, some experts believe that the strike was carried out by Russia. This is because 99% of the casualties were men of conscription age. And the grocery store, it is claimed, had long ceased to be a store — it was being used as a base by Ukrainian military personnel. This version is supported by the fact that around 50 people died, indicating that many more were inside the building. Why were nearly a hundred people, most of them men, in a village store on a weekday? To provide context, the population of the village of Hroza is 500. There have never been that many men of conscription age there," suggests "Bloknot."
Statements from official Kremlin figures also varied. They could not come to a definitive agreement on who was in the café: civilians or neo-Nazis?
Some promoted the narrative that there were Ukrainian soldiers in the café, but it was shelled from the Ukrainian side to blame Russia.
Information Agency "Bloknot":
"Russia commented on the missile strike on Hroza in the Kharkiv region. The statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Federation at the UN, Vasily Nebenzya.
'As you know, at the time of the strike, memorial services were being held for one of the high-ranking Ukrainian nationalists. It is clear that many of his associates — neo-Nazis — were involved. It is no coincidence that in the photographs shared on social media immediately after the strike, almost all the bodies belong to men of conscription age. We have encountered such situations before. The Kyiv regime has wrung its hands over the deaths resulting from strikes on dormitories, cafés, stores, and so on, and then obituaries appeared about the elimination of mercenaries. Such a 'coincidence.' We do not rule out that it will be the same with Hroza,' he commented, without confirming the involvement of the Russian Armed Forces in the attack.
Others, such as the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, commenting on the strike on Hroza, stated that 'the Armed Forces of Russia do not strike civilian objects in Ukraine but work on military infrastructure.'
Both Russian propaganda and official figures were united in one thing — refusing to admit to the crime until the very end."
"Residents of the village of Hroza gathered that day for a memorial lunch for a fallen Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier. According to the National Police of the Kharkiv region, he died in 2022, was buried in Dnipro, and then reburied in his native village.
'He was not a high-ranking official and did not hold high positions in the Armed Forces. He was a local resident and died near Popasna,' said Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the investigation department of the National Police in Kharkiv region, in a comment to Radio Svoboda. 'All of them died due to a Russian missile. These are ordinary people—pensioners, teachers, medical workers, friends. All the deceased and wounded are civilians. There are no military personnel among the dead or injured,' Bolvinov added.
Later, the SBU established that the spotters for the Russian 'Iskander' missile that hit the village were two local collaborators, brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamony. However, after the de-occupation of the village, they fled to Russia."
The report by the UN Monitoring Mission states that the missile strike on the village of Hroza, which resulted in the deaths of its residents—civilians—was carried out by the Russian army.
"The report was based on information collected and verified by experts from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, who conducted two fact-finding missions in Hroza on October 7 and 10. They examined the explosion site and interviewed 35 individuals, including local residents, witnesses, two survivors, medical personnel, and morgue workers," reports Voice of America.
The aftermath of the strike on the café in the village of Hroza was captured by Ukrainian photographer Yakiv Liashenko from Kharkiv.
"One of the hardest moments during the shoot was when the phone of a deceased person rang. The documents, phones, and belongings we found were gathered in one place," shared Yakiv with UAPP.
UAPP is an independent association of professional Ukrainian photographers, designed to protect their interests, support, develop and promote Ukrainian photography as an important element of national culture.
UAPP's activities span educational, social, research and cultural initiatives, as well as book publishing.
UAPP represents Ukrainian professional photography in the international photographic community and is an official member of the Federation of European Photographers (FEP) — an international organization representing more than 50,000 professional photographers in Europe and other countries around the world.
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