Russian strike on Ukrainian village kills 48, authorities say

A Russian strike on a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday killed at least 48 people, according to Ukrainian authorities, marking one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram a missile struck a grocery store near the district of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. He called it a “demonstrably brutal Russian crime.”

“Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals,” he wrote. “Everyone who supports Russia until now supports evil. Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world.”

The missile fell in a small village called Groza, according to Ukrainian authorities, who shared images of the aftermath of the attack online.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a 6-year-old boy was among the dead.

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that at least another six people were injured, including a child. He said rescue operations are ongoing.

“The enemy committed another war crime in Kharkiv region,” Synyehubov wrote.

The strike comes as Zelensky meets in Granada, Spain, with around 50 European leaders to shore up support for the war and discuss future aid.

Russia also targeted Ukraine on Thursday with a flurry of drone strikes, most of which were disabled by Ukrainian air defenses.