Russian terrorism must be stopped, said Zelensky in Granada, Spain, where he attended the European Political Community summit. Anyone who helps Russia circumvent sanctions is an accomplice to the crime. The attack was carried out by an Iskander rocket near the front, in the village of Hrosa, 30 kilometers from the city of Kupiansk, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
According to Zelensky, 48 people died in the attack and many were injured. The region’s governor, Oleh Sinehubow, reported 49 deaths, and the interior minister later spoke of at least 51 deaths. Among them was a six-year-old boy. Next to the store, a cafe was also hit. There were no military targets at the site, the Ukrainian Interior Ministry statement said. Around 300 people still lived in the village.
Ukraine: dead after attack on supermarket
Dozens of people were killed in an attack on a village near the city of Kupyansk, in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine. A Russian missile hit a supermarket.
Zelensky described the Russian army as “absolute evil” and accused Moscow of a “deliberate missile attack”: “Russian military personnel could not have been in the dark about where they attacked. This was not a blind attack.”
Many civilians at the site of the attack
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office released photos and a video showing piles of rubble and people lying motionless on the ground. The attack occurred at 1:15 pm local time (12:15 pm CEST). According to Synehubow, there were many civilians in the area at that time. Local sources said the cafe was particularly busy as it was hosting a dinner in memory of a recently deceased resident.
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Zelenskyy calls for unity
Ukraine had already liberated the region around Kupyansk from Russian occupation last autumn, which has now been affected by the attack. At that time, the Oskil River was also crossed and Ukrainian troops partially advanced into the neighboring region of Luhansk. Kupyansk was an important supply center for Russian forces after the invasion. Meanwhile, Russian troops regained the advantage in the area and fighting in the east of the Kharkiv region intensified.
UN, EU and US condemn attack
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack in the “strongest terms”: “Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law and must be stopped immediately.” The UN coordinator for humanitarian aid in Ukraine spoke about the Hrosa reports in horror. Deliberately carrying out an attack on civilians or civilian objects is a war crime.
Russia’s terrifying terror has “reached another grim milestone”, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. The White House called it a “horrific” attack.
Putin: West “has lost touch with reality”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a sweeping attack on the West and Ukraine in his annual speech at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi. Putin accused the West of having “lost touch with reality”. Putin also reiterated his previous position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine but launched a “special military operation” to end it. The Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.