January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack

Offensive on Mariupol (January 2015)
Part of War in Donbass
Date 24 January 2015 – present Location Mariupol Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Ukraine	Donetsk People's Republic Russia (denied by Russia)
Commanders and leaders
Pres. Petro Poroshenko Stepan Poltorak Andrey Biletskii	Aleksandr Zakharchenko Vladimir Kononov
Units involved
Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ground Forces Ukrainian Sea Guard Internal Affairs Ministry: National Guard Donbas Battalion Azov Battalion Police	Novorossiya Armed Forces Russian Armed Forces (denied by Russia)
Casualties and losses
1 killed	Unknown
30 civilians killed and 86 wounded

The offensive on Mariupol was launched on 24 January 2015 by the pro-Russian rebel forces associated with the Donetsk People's Republic against the strategic maritime city of Mariupol, defended by the Ukrainian government forces. Mariupol had come under attack multiple times in the past year in the course of the War in Donbass, including in May–June 2014, when the city was under the control of pro-Russian forces; and the September 2014 offensive.

On 24 January 2015, the Mariupol city council and regional police said the city was subjected to indiscriminate rocket fire from the long-range Grad systems, killing at least 29 and injuring 97. The Ukrainian officials blamed the barrage on the rebels and the Russian military. The rebels denied the attack, but their leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, announced an offensive against Mariupol later that day.

According to a spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the Grad rockets originated from the areas controlled by the rebels.

Events

On January 22 pro-Russian rebels tried to attack Ukrainian positions on North-East of the city but failed.The next day, Alexander Zaharchenko vowed to fight until he reached the border of the Donetsk Oblast. Separatists reportedly began a tank offensive, and also conducted attacks near the west of the city. The village of Talakovka was reportedly shelled hard by separatists, but Ukrainian forces were "holding on". The shelling was confirmed by Andriy Lysenko, but said the separatists were still incapable of shelling the city itself because Ukrainian forces had not led them get close enough. Dmitry Tymchuk, a military blogger, reported on Facebook that a convoy of DPR tanks and APC's were advancing towards the city.

On January 24, a major escalation took place after a rocket attack killed many people. Mariupol city authorities said that a grad rocket hit a residential area in the city, and killed 20 people. Video footage showed that cars, buildings, and apartment flats were in flames as a result of the attack. The attack appeared to come from a multiple rocket launcher. One resident told Agence France-Presse on the telephone that the rebels had managed to seize Mariupol Airport, although rebels made no comment about that alleged airport seizure. The airport is located some 20 kilometers behind the front line. The rebels denied any involvement in the attack.

The rocket attacks came a day after the rebels rejected a peace deal and announced they were going on a multi-prong offensive against the government in Kiev to vastly increase their territory. Despite rebel denials, Donetsk rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces had started an offensive on Mariupol, and rejected further talks with Kiev; Zakharchenko said that "Today an offensive was launched on Mariupol. This will be the best possible monument to all our dead." The death also rose to 27 people, and several more were injured. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk called for an urgent meeting at the UN Security Council.

A Ukrainian military checkpoint was also hit in the attack, killing 1 soldier. The city council urged citizens of Mariupol not to panic and said that “all units are on fully battle-ready. Security measures in the city have been strengthened.” The General Secretary of NATO Jens Stoltenberg condemed the attack, urging Russia to stop supporting the rebels. President Petro Poroshenko considered the attack a "crime aganist humanity", and cancelled his trip to Saudi Arabia. He also vowed to deliver a "full victory" over the rebels. The OSCE condemned the attack, and confirmed that the rockets came from rebel held territory. Later, pro-Russian rebels said they were not going to storm Mariupol and the offensive was only to strengthen positions around the city.