The Zelenopillia rocket attack took place on 11 July 2014 during the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The rocket barrage, which was launched from inside Russian territory by Russian forces , killed 37 Ukrainian soldiers and border guards in a camp at Zelenopillia,

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

Rocket attack

In the early morning of 11 July 2014, Russian forces fired a barrage of 9K51M "Tornado-G" rockets in 40 salvos beginning at 4:40 a.m. They targeted an armored convoy of the

Ukrainian Ground Forces The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They ...

from a distance of 15 km. The Ukrainian column was camped in a field near the village of Zelenopillia, situated along the main highway to

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

in the Sverdlovsk Raion near

Rovenky Rovenky ( uk, Ровеньки, translit. ''Roven’ky'', russian: Ровеньки, translit. ''Rovenki'') is a coal mining city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of south-eastern Ukraine. Before 2020 it was incorporated as a city of oblast signifi ...

. The town is located only 9 km from the Russian border. The Ukrainian armored

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

s were a part of a larger contingent of troops guarding the Ukrainian-Russian border against the illegal movement of military equipment from Russia into

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

. At least 19 soldiers were killed and 93 others were injured in the rocket strike. Four

Ural-4320 The Ural-4320 is a general purpose off-road 6×6 vehicle, produced at the Ural Automotive Plant in Miass, Russia for use in the Russian army. Introduced in 1976, it is still in production today. The wheel arrangement for the Ural-4320 was design ...

transport trucks full of troops were struck. According to one Ukrainian soldier's account, the 1st Battalion of the 79th Mykolaiv Airmobile Brigade was "almost completely destroyed" during the rocket onslaught. 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. 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. Ukrainian border guards Colonel Ihor Momot was among the fallen. Materiel losses were equivalent to two

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s worth of equipment.

Reactions

In response to the rocket strike, Ukrainian president

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

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". The

United States Department of Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

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 Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

view of the same physical features inside Russian territory bordering Ukraine.

References

Bibliography

* Galeotti, Mark (2017) ''The Modern Russian Army 1992–2016.'' Bloomsbury Publishing.

Rocket attack

Reactions

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading