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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.
In late June 2014, Ukrainian forces launched a major 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 in Zelenopillya village near Ukrainian-Russian border was shelled by a modern Russian 9K51M "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 of Donetsk in the Rostov Oblast of Russia.[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 captured Grad rockets fired from inside Russia.[8] According to Bellingcat's investigation, they counted at least 1,353 artillery craters in just three locations alone: in Amvrosiivka city (14 July 2014), location between Dolzhanskaya-Capital mine and the village of Panchenkove (16 July to 8 August 2014), and Khmelnytskyi (25 July 2014).[9]
On 24 July 2014, the American government stated that it had evidence that the Russian military was firing on Ukrainian territory from across the border. A spokesman for the US Department of Defence stated that there was "no question" as to Russia's involvement in the attacks on Ukrainian 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 a Russian invasion by stealth in August 2014.[14] According to NATO 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]
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