The bodies of 7 more victims are being searched for in the ruins of a hypermarket in Kharkiv: relatives are urged to submit DNA samples

The rescue and search operation at the ruins of the construction hypermarket “Epicentr” in Kharkiv continues. It is already known about 14 dead and dozens of injured. It took 16 hours to put out the fire. Rescuers are looking for the bodies of seven more Kharkiv residents under the rubble.
200 rescuers were involved in clearing the debris. The bodies of the 10 dead have not yet been identified. Currently, relatives of missing Kharkiv residents are submitting DNA samples for identification.
“The bodies of 7 more victims, whose relatives and colleagues are looking for, have not yet been found. They are considered missing. I appeal to everyone who is currently looking for their loved ones. Submit DNA samples – at the moment, this is the only way to establish the identities of those who have already been found and will still be found at the site of the impact, report the disappearance of people who may have been in the “Epicenter”, said the head of the investigative department of the Kharkiv region. Sergey Bolvinov.
The head of the investigative department told the story of an 8-year-old boy, Maksym, who, together with his mother, is looking for his father. Maksymka’s dad worked in a hypermarket. After the airstrike, the family lost contact with him.

“Yesterday, Mykhailo did not wait for his dad to come home. Realizing that his father was probably among the victims, he and his mother contacted the police. The man worked in a hypermarket in the decoration department, and was inside at the time of the attack. The 8-year-old boy is a direct relative, so he has to go through the procedure he has to do the DNA selection. Investigators and criminologists are on the ruins of the hypermarket all night. We are afraid that we will have to sift through the ashes to find the remains and identify the dead,” said Serhiy Bolvinov.
The National Police published a video of Russian bombs hitting a construction hypermarket.
Representatives of international organizations (EU, UN and PACE) have already expressed their reaction to the events in Kharkiv. In particular, Denise Brown, the humanitarian coordinator of the UN in Ukraine, called the attacks of the Russian army on the civilian population and infrastructure “absolutely unacceptable”.
“The bombing of a construction hypermarket in Kharkiv on Saturday is another evidence of the brutal and criminal nature of the Russian leadership,” said Theodoros Roussopoulos, PACE President.
He emphasized that those responsible for this war crime should be brought to justice.
The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, noted that Russia’s next crime against the civilian population proves the need for urgent strengthening of support for air defense of Ukraine.