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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Donbas</span> 2014–2022 war between Ukraine and Russia

The war in Donbas, also known as the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when a commando unit headed by Russian citizen Igor Girkin seized Sloviansk in Donetsk oblast. The Ukrainian military launched an operation against them. The war continued until subsumed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of the Luhansk border base</span> 2014 siege during the War in Donbas

The siege of the Luhansk border base was a two-day-long standoff at a Ukrainian border base located on the outskirts of Luhansk city, from 2 to 4 June 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelling of Donetsk, Rostov Oblast</span>

On 13 July 2014, mortar shells fired from Ukrainian territory landed in the courtyard of a private home in the border town of Donetsk. The shelling killed one civilian and injured two others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion</span> July–August 2014 battle of the war in Donbas

The Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion began on 16 July 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to cut off the Russian backed separatists’ supply lines from Russia. Fighting broke out around the towns of Marynivka, Dmytrivka, Stepanivka, Shakhtarsk, as well as the strategic hill of Savur-Mohyla. It later spread to the cities of Snizhne and Torez. While the battle was in progress, a civilian passenger airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, was shot down near Hrabove on 17 July. Amidst a wide counter-offensive by the Russian proxy forces and their Russian backers across Donbas, government troops were forced out of Shakhtarsk Raion on 26 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Avdiivka (2017)</span> 2017 battle in the war in Donbas

The Battle of Avdiivka of 2017 was fought in late January and early February near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, during the war in Donbas. It saw some of the highest casualties during that phase of the conflict. According to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine the battle was of a level of fighting that had not been seen in Ukraine since 2014–15.

The Russian cross-border artillery shelling of Ukraine happened in July–September 2014 amidst the war in Donbas to prevent the defeat of the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. The Russian Armed Forces performed a series of artillery strikes targeting Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2015)</span> List of events during the war in Donbas in 2015

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2020)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2017)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas, from 1 January 2017. The timeline follows an ongoing conflict between Ukraine and anti-government pro-Russian separatists supported by Russian troops in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2018)</span>

This is the timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2022)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas in early 2022. On 24 February 2022, the war in Donbas was subsumed into the eastern Ukraine campaign of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kharkiv (2022)</span> A 2022 battle of the Russo-Ukrainian War

The battle of Kharkiv was a military engagement that took place from February to May 2022 in and around the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine, as part of the eastern Ukraine offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kharkiv, located just 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the Russia–Ukraine border and a predominately Russian-speaking city, is the second-largest city in Ukraine and was considered a major target for the Russian military early in the invasion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ukraine campaign</span> Russian offensive in Ukraine

The northern Ukraine campaign was a theater of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It involved attacks by Russia across the Russo-Ukrainian and Belarusian–Ukrainian borders, beginning on 24 February 2022, for control of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and the surrounding areas of Kyiv Oblast and northern regions Zhytomyr Oblast, Sumy Oblast, and Chernihiv Oblast. Kyiv is the seat of the Ukrainian government and the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Chernihiv</span> Battle in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

The siege of Chernihiv was a military engagement in the city of Chernihiv, in Chernihiv Oblast in the north of Ukraine. It began on 24 February 2022, as part of the northern Ukraine offensive, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 4 April 2022, Ukrainian authorities stated that the Russian military had left Chernihiv Oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mykolaiv</span> Battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The battle of Mykolaiv started on the night of 26 February 2022, as part of the southern Ukraine campaign during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It ended with Russian forces being repulsed from the city in March, and by April all but a few of its surrounding villages were back under Ukrainian control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hostomel</span> Battle during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The battle of Hostomel was the first major battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fought for control over the town of Hostomel between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. As part of the Kyiv offensive, the Russian forces sought control over Hostomel, Bucha and Irpin in order to encircle and besiege the Ukrainian capital city Kyiv from the west. Due to the intensity of the Kyiv offensive, the Kyiv Oblast State Administration named Hostomel, along with Irpin, Bucha, Highway M06, and Vyshhorod as the most dangerous places in Kyiv Oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lviv strikes (2022–present)</span> Airstrikes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

The 2022–present bombing of Lviv and the Lviv Oblast began after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Lviv Oblast was attacked from March–November, and Lviv city from May–October 2022. The targets were both civilian and military, including electricity and railway infrastructure and a military base. Seven civilians were killed.

The 2022 bombing of Ivano-Frankivsk began on the first day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a series of missile strikes by Russia and Belarus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Scales, Robert H. (5 August 2016). "Opinion | Russia's superior new weapons". The Washington Post . Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 "The heroes we will never forget". The Day . No. 47. 13 August 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Zinets, Natalia; Tsvetkova, Maria (11 July 2014). "Ukraine says rebels will pay as missiles kill 23 soldiers". Reuters . Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. Під Зеленопіллям триває бій, військові потребують термінової допомоги [The battle continues near Zelenopillia, the military needs urgent help]. unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Year ago: ATO troops near Zelenopillya burnt to the ground by Russian Grads". unian.info. Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  6. Galeotti, Mark (2017). The Modern Russian Army 1992–2016. Elite. Vol. 217. Illustrated by Johnny Shumate. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 61. ISBN   978-1-4728-1909-3.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Axe, David (5 August 2020). "The Ukrainian Army Learned The Hard Way—Don't Idle Your Tanks When The Russians Are Nearby". Forbes . Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  8. 1 2 "Up to 30 Ukraine Soldiers, Border Guards Die in Attack: Official". NBC News . 11 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 "Ukrainian Troops Were Likely Shelled from Russian MRLS Tornado in Zelenopillia". Censor.NET. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  10. Butusov, Yurii (12 July 2015). 11 июля 2014 года. Вооруженные силы Российской Федерации уничтожили лагерь украинских войск под Зеленопольем [11 July 2014. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed the camp of Ukrainian troops near Zelenopillia]. Censor.NET (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  11. 1 2 Солдати в Зеленопіллі загинули від новітнього російського "Торнадо-Г" - ЗМІ [Soldiers in Zelenopillia died from the latest Russian "Tornado-G" – the mass media]. unian.ua (in Ukrainian). Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  12. Українських військових під Зеленопіллям обстріляли з новітньої російської зброї "Торнадо", - журналіст [Ukrainian soldiers near Zelenopillia were fired upon with the latest Russian weapon "Tornado", – journalist]. iPress.ua (in Ukrainian). 13 July 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  13. 1 2 Сили АТО під Зеленопіллям обстріляли з "Торнадо" - ЗМІ [Anti-Terrorist Operation forces near Zelenopillia were fired upon with "Tornado" – the mass media]. Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 13 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  14. Babiak, Mat (11 July 2014). "Rocket strike kills dozens of Ukrainian soldiers near Russian border". Euromaidan Press . Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  15. "Ukrainian Fighter Jets Pound Rebels After Deadly Missile Attack". Voice of America . Reuters. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  16. "Ukraine conflict: Many soldiers dead in 'rocket strike'". BBC News . 11 July 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  17. Williams, Carol J.; Loiko, Sergei L. (11 July 2014). "In eastern Ukraine, separatist rocket attacks, bus ambush kill 30". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  18. Bazov, Gleb (17 July 2014). "Ukrainian Soldiers – Abandoned in Zelenopillia, Corpses All Around Them". SLAVYANGRAD.org. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  19. Weiss, Michael; Miller, James (17 July 2014). "Russia Is Firing Missiles at Ukraine". Foreign Policy . Retrieved 12 February 2016.

Further reading