TheRussian cross-border artillery shelling of Ukraine happened in July–September 2014 amidst thewar in Donbas to prevent the defeat of the self-declaredDonetsk andLuhansk People's Republics. TheRussian Armed Forces performed a series of artillery strikes targetingUkrainian troops in theDonbas region of Ukraine.
In late June 2014, Ukrainian forces launched amajor operation to restore control of the Russo-Ukrainian border. The success of this operation threatened the very existence of Russian-supported DPR and LPR statelets.[1]
On 11 July 2014, a Ukrainian camp inZelenopillya village near Ukrainian-Russian border was shelled by a modern Russian9K51M "Tornado-G"M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System, and Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties. A massive and unexpected artillery attack killed 37 and wounded over 100 soldiers.[2][3]
On 13 July 2014, Russia claimed mortar shells fired from Ukrainian territory landed in the courtyard of a private home in the border town ofDonetsk in theRostov Oblast ofRussia.[4] The shelling killed one civilian and injured two others.[5] Russia said it would be considering "surgical strikes" that target Ukrainian military positions near the border, but there would not be a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.[6]
Russian artillery shelled Ukrainian territory repeatedly during the following days.[7] Live videos had capturedGrad rockets fired from inside Russia.[8] According toBellingcat's investigation, they counted at least 1,353 artillery craters in just three locations alone: inAmvrosiivka city (14 July 2014), location betweenDolzhanskaya-Capital mine and the village ofPanchenkove [uk] (16 July to 8 August 2014), andKhmelnytskyi (25 July 2014).[9]
On 24 July 2014, theAmerican government stated that it had evidence that the Russian military was firing on Ukrainian territory from across the border. A spokesman for the USDepartment of Defence stated that there was "no question" as to Russia's involvement in the attacks onUkrainian Armed Forces.[10] On 27 July, U.S. officials confirmed Russia had shelled Ukrainian territory.[11] At the time, Russian government spokesman denied these allegations.[12] On 28 July, US State Department published satellite photos showing heavy artillery shelling Ukrainian positions from Russian territory.[13]
The shelling had escalated at least one week prior to aRussian invasion by stealth in August 2014.[14] According toNATO reports, Russian military shelled Ukrainian positions across the border from mid-August, and by 22 August, Russian artillery and personnel had crossed the border into Ukraine itself.[15][16]
Satellite imagery shows evidence of Russian artillery attacks against the Ukrainian military, U.S. officials say