Zelenopillia rocket attack

Last updated

Zelenopillia rocket attack
Part of the war in Donbas
Date11 July 2014
Location
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine Flag of Russia.svg  Russia [1]
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Ukraine.svg Col. Ihor Momot  [2]
(Head of State Border Service)
Unknown
Units involved

Ensign of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.svg  Ukrainian Ground Forces:

Ukrainian Airmobile Forces Flag.svg Airmobile Forces:

Flag of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.svg State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

Flag of the Russian ground forces.svg  Russian Ground Forces [6]
Strength
1 armoured group [7] 122-mm 9K51M "Tornado-G" batteries
2 Orlan-10 drones [7]
Casualties and losses
37 killed [8]
100+ injured [9]
2 battalions worth of vehicles and tanks lost [7]
1 Orlan-10 drone shot down [7]

The Zelenopillia rocket attack took place on 11 July 2014 during the war in Donbas. The rocket barrage, which was launched from inside Russian territory by Russian [10] [1] forces, killed 37 Ukrainian soldiers and border guards in a camp at Zelenopillia, Sverdlovsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast. [8]

Contents

Attack

In the early morning of 11 July 2014, Russian forces fired a barrage of 9K51M "Tornado-G" [11] [12] [13] [9] rockets in 40 salvos beginning at 4:40 a.m. They targeted an armoured convoy of the Ukrainian Ground Forces from a distance of 15 kilometres (9.3 mi). The Ukrainian column was camped in a field near the village of Zelenopillia, situated along the main highway to Luhansk in Sverdlovsk Raion near Rovenky. [14] The town is located only 9 km (5.6 mi) from the Russia–Ukraine border. The Ukrainian armoured brigades were a part of a larger contingent of troops guarding the border against the illegal movement of military equipment from Russia into Eastern Ukraine. [13] [15]

At least 19 soldiers were killed and 93 others were injured in the rocket strike. [3] [16] [17] Four Ural-4320 transport trucks full of troops were struck. According to one Ukrainian soldier's account, the 1st Battalion of Mykolaiv's 79th Airmobile Brigade was "almost completely destroyed" during the rocket onslaught. [5] Chief physician of a regional hospital, Serhiy Ryzhenko, reported the wounded to be in grave condition, with some undergoing traumatic leg amputations and loss of limbs. [18]

According to an investigation a year later, 30 Ukrainian soldiers and 7 border guards were killed and over 100 soldiers were wounded during that strike. [9] [11] Ukrainian border guards Colonel Ihor Momot was among the fallen. [2] Materiel losses were equivalent to two battalions worth of equipment. [7]

Reactions

In response to the rocket strike, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko held an emergency cabinet meeting and issued a statement condemning the attack and vowing to "find and destroy" the pro-Russian rebels accountable. He also said for every Ukrainian serviceman's life the militants will pay with "tens and hundreds of their own". [3]

The United States Department of the Treasury instituted a new set of sanctions on Russia after reliable evidence emerged that the rockets were fired from within Russian territory. Videos by a resident of the rocket launchers firing at Ukrainian positions matched the very same Google Maps view of the same physical features inside Russian territory bordering Ukraine. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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Further reading