Russia's UN representative claims wake being held in Hroza when missile strike killed 52 civilians was for "high-ranking nationalist"

Vasily Nebenzya, the Russian Federation’s Permanent Representative to the UN, said at a meeting of the Security Council on Monday, 9 October that the funeral of a "high-ranking Ukrainian nationalist" was being held in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast when the Russian missile strike that killed 52 people was launched.

Source: Nebenzya at a UN Security Council meeting initiated by Ukraine after the Russian missile strike on the village of Hroza, broadcast by Suspilne

Details: In his speech, the Russian permanent representative "noted" that the tragedy in Hroza occurred at the exact moment when Zelenskyy was trying to convince the European Union to provide additional support for Ukraine at the EU summit in Spain.

He also "justified" the strike by claiming that Nazi collaborators were present at the wake in the cafe at the time of the attack.

Quote: "It is known that the funeral of a high-ranking Ukrainian nationalist was going on at the time of the attack. Many Nazi collaborators were there. That is why there are men of draft age in the pictures published after the strike.

We have heard this repeatedly when the Kyiv regime has accused us of hitting shops, hotels and so on. And many obituaries have later appeared, including some [of people] with foreign surnames. Perhaps it will be the same with Hroza."

Background:

• On 5 October, the Russians attacked a cafe in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, as a wake for a fallen soldier was taking place there.
• Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the strike was so precise that it is suspected that the attack was guided by a local resident.
• As of 6 October, 52 people were reported dead. Among the dead are the widow and son of the soldier for whom the wake was being held after his reburial in his home village. 
• Russian forces may have struck the Hroza cafe thinking that Ukrainian soldiers were there, but those present were all civilians, the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office noted.

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