Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) named two Ukrainian collaborators on Oct. 11 who allegedly worked with Russian forces to carry out the Oct. 5 attack on Hroza that killed 53.
In a post on Telegram, the SBU announced they were in pursuit of the individuals involved.
Brothers Volodymyr Mamon, 30, and Dmytro Mamon, 23, both locals from Kharkiv Oblast, began working with Russian forces during the occupation of the area, the SBU claimed. Following the liberation of the region in late 2022, the brothers fled to Russia, where they continued to collaborate with Russia, creating a network of local informants and other contacts.
The brothers used these contacts to identify Ukrainian troop movements or gatherings, which they reported back to their Russian controllers. According to the SBU, they often used unwitting informants, whom they asked seemingly innocent questions in order to hide their collaboration.
The SBU alleges that the brothers explicitly worked to gather information about the memorial service for a fallen soldier who was being reburied in Hroza. They provided these details to Russian forces, likely knowing full well that those who relayed the information would be there at the time of the upcoming Russian attack.
In the missile strike that followed, 55 people were killed- more than half of the village's population, in the deadliest Russian attack on civilians in 2023.
The SBU, along with the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's office, shared text exchanges that implicated the brothers in the attack.
Alexander Khrebet
