On 5 October, a missile struck a café in the small village of Hroza in eastern Ukraine, killing 59 people attending a funeral reception. It was, as we said at the time, one of the deadliest single incidents for civilians since February 2022.

Today, we are publishing a report into the events of 5 October that concludes there are reasonable grounds to believe that the missile was launched by Russian armed forces, and that there was no indication of military personnel or any other legitimate military targets at or adjacent to the café at the time of the attack.

The report was based on information collected and verified by our colleagues from the Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), who carried out two fact-finding missions to Hroza on 7 and 10 October. Colleagues inspected the site of the blast, and interviewed 35 people, including local residents, witnesses, two survivors, medical staff and morgue employees. 

Those killed – 36 women, 22 men and an eight-year-old boy - were all civilians, attending the reception after the funeral and re-burial of a local man who was a member of the Ukrainian armed forces. The blast completely destroyed the café and a small shop.

The report details the devastating impact of the missile strike on Hroza, with 15 families losing two or more family members.

One man, Volodymyr, said he could not believe his wife, his son and daughter-in-law were gone. “I cannot sleep, I cannot eat…I walk around in hope to see my wife showing up from somewhere,” he said. Another resident recounted how her daughter’s friend could only be identified by her manicure when rescue workers discovered her hand. For many others, identification relied on DNA tests of bodily remains.

The report says that the Russian armed forces either failed to do everything feasible to verify that the target was a military objective, or deliberately targeted civilians or civilian objects. Either scenario would be in violation of international humanitarian law. 

We urge the Russian Federation to conduct a full and transparent investigation to hold those responsible to account and to take measures to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future. We also call on the Russian Federation to provide access to effective remedy, including appropriate reparations, for victims and families.  

To read the full report, please click here