Trial begins in absentia over Russian strike on Hroza cafe that killed 59
Ukrainian prosecutors have sent to court the case over the October 5, 2023 Russian Iskander-M missile strike on the Sputnik cafe in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, which killed 59 people, including a child, during a memorial lunch. Seven defendants — two local brothers accused of guiding the attack and five Russian military commanders — will be tried in absentia.
Key points
- The Iskander-M strike hit the Sputnik cafe in Hroza on October 5, 2023, during a memorial lunch following the reburial of a Ukrainian servicemember.
- 59 people were killed, including a child; five others were injured.
- The 59 dead represent roughly one-sixth of Hroza's pre-war population of about 300 residents.
- Seven defendants will be tried in absentia: brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon, former Hroza residents who allegedly passed the cafe's coordinates and timing to the Russian side, and five Russian military commanders.
- The five Russian military suspects include the head of the enemy fire-damage intelligence control center, the head of the joint fire-damage planning center, the chief of staff – first deputy commander of the joint force grouping, the chief of missile troops and artillery, and the commander of the 119th Missile Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army, whose subordinates launched the missile.
- The five Russian military defendants are charged with violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder; the two brothers are also charged with treason under martial law.
- The pretrial investigation, conducted by the SBU Department in Kharkiv Oblast over roughly three years, included 3D scanning of the site, missile-fragment analysis, reconstruction of the flight path and launch site, and more than 270 forensic examinations.
Why it matters
The Hroza strike was one of the deadliest single attacks on Ukrainian civilians in 2023, and the indictment is notable for the level of detail it provides about the Russian chain of command that approved and carried it out. By publicly tying a specific unit — the 119th Missile Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army — to the killing of civilians gathered for a memorial lunch, the case builds an evidentiary record that goes beyond the strike itself. Charging both Russian commanders and the two local brothers alleged to have guided the attack also frames the case as both a war-crimes prosecution and a treason prosecution.
What happened
On October 5, 2023, a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile struck the Sputnik cafe in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, where civilians were gathered for a memorial lunch following the reburial of a Ukrainian servicemember. The strike killed 59 people, including a child, and wounded five others. October 6–8, 2023 were declared days of mourning in Kharkiv Oblast.
According to the indictment, two brothers, Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon, former residents of Hroza, are alleged to have cooperated with Russian forces during the occupation of Shevchenkove in Kupiansk district and to have passed the cafe's coordinates and the exact time of the lunch to the Russian side before leaving for Russia. Five Russian military figures are tied to specific roles in the attack: the head of the enemy fire-damage intelligence control center, who verified the information about civilians in the cafe; the head of the joint fire-damage planning and coordination center, who prepared the strike proposal; the chief of staff – first deputy commander of the joint force grouping, who made the final attack decision; the chief of missile troops and artillery, who organized preparations and issued the order; and the commander of the 119th Missile Brigade of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District, whose subordinates launched the missile.
The five Russian military defendants are charged under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder committed by a group of persons in prior conspiracy). The two brothers face the same war-crime charge as accomplices plus Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 111 (treason under martial law by a group of persons in prior conspiracy). All seven are being tried in absentia because they are at large. The case will be heard by the Industrial District Court of Kharkiv.
The pretrial investigation, led by the SBU Department in Kharkiv Oblast together with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence, lasted roughly three years. Investigators conducted 3D scanning of the strike site, examined missile fragments, reconstructed the flight trajectory and launch site, and carried out more than 270 forensic examinations.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the age of the child killed in the strike: some accounts name an 8-year-old child, while others, including the initial end-of-day death toll on October 5, 2023, identify a 6-year-old boy.
Background
The strike on Hroza on October 5, 2023 took place during a pomenalnyi obid (memorial lunch) at the Sputnik cafe, following the reburial of a Ukrainian servicemember. October 6–8, 2023 were declared days of mourning in Kharkiv Oblast. The village of Hroza had about 300 residents before the war, meaning the 59 dead represent roughly one-sixth of the community. The two civilian defendants — brothers Volodymyr and Dmytro Mamon — are former Hroza residents alleged to have cooperated with Russian forces during the occupation of Shevchenkove in Kupiansk district before leaving for Russia. The pretrial investigation was conducted by the SBU Department in Kharkiv Oblast, the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Office of the Prosecutor General and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. The trial will be heard by the Industrial District Court of Kharkiv.