Increasing pressure on Germany to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles

Thursday’s attack on the small village of Horozha, where the population had fallen from about 500 before the war, killed about one in six of the town’s remaining 300 residents, Ukrainian officials said.

By Friday morning, the death toll had risen to 52, and six more were wounded, said Oleh Sinyhopov, the regional military governor. Telegram messaging app. He added that among the dead was a 6-year-old child.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, V His night addressHe appeared to have difficulty finding the words to denounce the attack, one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent months and the most devastating because it wounded people gathered at a memorial service. Calling him “monstrous” would be an insult to monsters, he said.

“It was not a blind attack. People had gathered there for a memorial meal, a Christian memorial meal. And who could fire a missile at them? Who?” Asked.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry S. said: Peskov, at a press conference on Friday, said that the Russian military does not strike civilian targets and that attacks are carried out only on military infrastructure.

Search and rescue operations at the site of the attack, which Zelensky said hit a grocery store and a cafe, ended shortly before 8pm on Thursday, according to Ukraine’s state emergency services.

But emergency workers continued to comb the scene on Friday, dismantling rubble and inspecting the site, according to Mr. Sinyhopov, who said they found more remains. While they worked, people came to lay flowers and light candles. Three bouquets of red roses were placed next to a small brown teddy bear.

The village is located 23 miles from the front line, but without any obvious military or industrial targets in the vicinity. Ukrainian Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said a preliminary investigation indicated the attack used an Iskander missile, which is relatively short-range.

By late Thursday afternoon, 29 of the dead had been identified, according to state emergency services. The Ukrainian National Police said DNA tests would be necessary to confirm the identity of some of those killed due to the extent of their injuries.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was at the scene himself and deployed a field team to the site to “speak to survivors and gather more information” about the attack, the news reported. launch.