Payback for Groza: Russia sentences women in absentia over assassination of missile officer
Photo: Two women convicted of killing a soldier in Russia (Getty Images)
In Russia, a Ukrainian and a Russian woman were sentenced in absentia for the murder of an officer believed to be involved in the strike on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region. At that time, 59 civilians were killed, Deutsche Welle reports.
According to the media outlet, Ukrainian Maria Savosta and Russian Olena Popova were sentenced to 18 and 24 years in prison respectively for the murder of Russian Armed Forces missile officer Kostiantyn Nahaiko.
In particular, Nahaiko is considered involved in the strike on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, which resulted in the deaths of 59 civilians.
Case materials state that 29-year-old Captain Kostiantyn Nahaiko, commander of a battery of a missile brigade division, was killed in the city of Shuya, Ivanovo region on December 30, 2024.
According to the investigation, Savosta sent him a package with a "cosmetic set and other items" as a New Year's gift. Popova delivered the package - through third parties who left it on the officer's desk. When Nahaiko opened the package, an explosion occurred.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence reported the assassination attempt on Nahaiko back on January 4 of this year. Ukrainian intelligence said that due to the explosion in the Russian military unit, Captain Kostiantyn Nahaiko, implicated in war crimes against Ukraine, was in critical condition.
Missile strike on the village of Hroza
On October 5, 2023, Russian forces struck a café in the village of Hroza in Kharkiv region with a missile, where officially 330 people lived. At that time, a memorial service was being held there for a Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman who was reburied that day in the local cemetery.
Later, the reports indicated that the death toll reached 59 people.
As it turned out, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) uncovered two Iskander missile gunners who helped Russia strike the village. The criminals were two local residents - 30-year-old Volodymyr Mamon and his younger brother, 23-year-old Dmytro Mamon, who during the occupation of the region switched to the enemy's side and moved to Russia with their families.
RBC-Ukraine also reported that correspondence of the traitors who directed the Iskander missile at the village of Hroza appeared online.
