Cyber experts and investigators of the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, have gathered evidence against the top command of the Russian Armed Forces responsible for the missile strike on the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv region in October 2023.
"As the investigation established, Russia purposefully attacked a local cafe with an Iskander-M ballistic missile while a memorial service for a fallen Ukrainian soldier was taking place there," the SBU reported on its Telegram channel on Friday.
The agency notes that 59 civilians, including one young child, were killed as a result of the enemy attack. Five more people sustained injuries of varying degrees of severity. The cafe premises were completely destroyed, while nine private households, the village council building, and 12 civilian cars were damaged.
"According to the investigation, the decision to carry out the missile strike was made by the chief of staff and first deputy commander of the joint grouping of forces of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, Colonel General Aleksei Kim," the Ukrainian special service informs.
According to the report, under Kim’s orders, the preparation for the missile attack was carried out by Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk, deputy commander of the joint grouping of forces of the Russian Armed Forces; Rear Admiral Aleksei Petrushyn, head of the intelligence management center of the staff of the joint grouping of forces of the Russian Armed Forces; and Colonel Dmitry Kozlovsky, chief of staff and first deputy head of the missile forces and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces.
"The direct order to launch the ballistic missile was given by Colonel Ivan Petrov, commander of the 119th Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces," the agency stresses.
It was also established that the launch of the missile, which was equipped with a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing 480 kg, was carried out by servicemen of the 119th Missile Brigade of Russia from the territory of Voronezh Oblast.
The Ukrainian special service recalls that in October 2023, following the immediate aftermath, the SBU identified two spotters who defected to the enemy during the occupation of Kupyansk in 2022 and fled to Russia just before the frontline town was liberated.
While already on the territory of Russia, they covertly questioned acquaintances from the village to gather information about mass gatherings of people to pass to the enemy.
Based on the gathered evidence, Security Service investigators served notices of suspicion in absentia to all five Russian servicemen under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war combined with intentional murder, committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy).
The investigation was conducted by SBU employees in Kharkiv region in cooperation with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine under the procedural guidance of the regional prosecutor’s office.
