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Ukraine: UN rights chief condemns deadly strike in Hroza - OHCHR
“The appalling scenes from the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine underscores once again the terrible price civilians are paying 20 months after Russia’s invasion.
According to the local authorities, 52 people were killed when what appeared to be a Russian missile struck a café in the village, where people had gathered for a wake,” Throssell said.
So far, our colleagues in the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) have established the names of 27 people who were killed – 15 women and 12 men, and of three women and one man who were injured. One Ukrainian soldier who was attending his father’s funeral was among those killed, according to the authorities.
“What is clear is that the strike is one of the deadliest since 24 February 2022 but of course far from being the only one. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who saw for himself the horrific impact of such strikes, is profoundly shocked and condemns this act. He has deployed a field team to the site to speak to survivors and gather more information,” she said.
“Before the Russian invasion, the village’s population was about 300. It is not clear how many residents were still living there, but it is clear that with the high number of people killed, everybody in this small community has been affected. We know at least eight families had more than one relative killed in the attack,” the spokesperson said.
“We stress once again that international humanitarian law, in particular the rules on conduct of hostilities must be strictly respected,” she said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org or
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- Exterior shot: Palais des Nations, Geneva.
- Soundbite (English)— Liz Throssell UN Human Rights Spokesperson, (OHCHR): “The appalling scenes from the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine underscores once again the terrible price civilians are paying 20 months after Russia’s invasion. According to the local authorities, 52 people were killed when what appeared to be a Russian missile struck a café in the village, where people had gathered for a wake,”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
- Soundbite (English)— Liz Throssell UN Human Rights Spokesperson, (OHCHR): “What is clear is that the strike is one of the deadliest since 24 February 2022 but of course far from being the only one. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, who saw for himself the horrific impact of such strikes, is profoundly shocked and condemns this act. He has deployed a field team to the site to speak to survivors and gather more information.”
- Cutaways: Briefing room
- Soundbite (English)— Liz Throssell UN Human Rights Spokesperson, (OHCHR): “Before the Russian invasion, the village’s population was about 300. It is not clear how many residents were still living there, but it is clear that with the high number of people killed, everybody in this small community has been affected. We know at least eight families had more than one relative killed in the attack.”
- Soundbite (English)— Liz Throssell UN Human Rights Spokesperson, (OHCHR): “We stress once again that international humanitarian law, in particular the rules on conduct of hostilities must be strictly respected,”
- Soundbite (English)— Liz Throssell UN Human Rights Spokesperson, (OHCHR): “
Cutaways: Briefing room
Cutaways: Briefing room
Cutaways: Briefing room
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