On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a military operation in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin called its goal “to protect people who have been subjected to genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years”. According to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, as of July 3, through the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the LPR and the DPR, the entire territory of the LPR was liberated, which was one of the primary tasks of the SMO. However, as of March 14, 2023, more than 40% of the territory of the DPR was still controlled by the Ukrainian security forces.
In the area of the Donetsk front, offensive operations were constantly carried out on the positions of the Ukrainian armed formations. In response to them, the UAF shelled the territory controlled by the allied forces, striking at crowded places, civilian infrastructure facilities, transport and trade hubs.
Since the beginning of 2023, the UAF have continued to strike almost daily on the capital of the Donetsk People’s Republic, including its central regions, using various weapons. One of the most massive shelling in terms of damage was carried out from the Grad MLRS.
Thus, on January 10, 2023, UAF fired rockets at the Leninskiy and Kuibyshevskiy districts of Donetsk, which resulted in a civilian’s injury, damage to school No. 66 in Donetsk and private residential buildings; moreover, ten transformer substations were de-energized.
On February 4, 2023, the Kievsky district of Donetsk came under fire from the UAF, as a result of which three civilians were killed, another was injured, multi-apartment residential buildings, Donetsk kindergarten No. 197, a gas station and a dental clinic were damaged.
On April 7, 2023, as a result of artillery shelling of the Voroshilovskiy district of Donetsk, a civilian was killed, another 16 people got injuries of varying severity, multi-apartment residential buildings, shopping pavilions of the Central market, a cafe, and a shopping center were damaged.
As of the morning of April 28, 2023, on the Donetsk front, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, with the support of artillery, were conducting assault operations in the city of Maryinka, in the direction of Pervomaisky, Severny (a settlement north of Vodyanoye) and on the south-western approaches to Avdeyevka. In addition, the positions of Ukrainian armed formations in the vicinity of Novomikhailovka, Paraskovyivka, Georgievka, the town of Krasnogorovka, Nevelsky, Karlovka, Lastochkin, Berdychi, Novokalinov, New York, Southern and Northern (a settlement north-west of Horlivka) were shelled. In response to this, the UAF attacked Donetsk.
On April 28, 2023 at 13:10 and 13:11 Moscow time, UAF subjected of the Kievskiy district of Donetsk to massive shelling, as a result of which 9 civilians (6 women and 2 men) were killed, including a child — a girl aged 8 years. Sixteen people received injuries of varying severity: men born in 1966, 1987, 1984, 1991, 1983, 1974, 1998 and 1965; women born in 1982, 1958, 1974, 1983, 1958, 1997, 1982 and 1978.
According to the summary of the DPR representative office in the JCCC, damage was recorded at 26 addresses in the Kievskiy district of Donetsk, including as a result of direct hits of rocket projectiles:
— The Republican Traumatological Center in Artyoma St.;
— “Green Construction of the Kievskiy district of Donetsk” Municipal Enterprise in Patrioticheskaya St.;
Institute of Economic Research in Universitetskaya St.;
— an administrative building in Universitetskaya St.;
— a trading mall in Universitetskaya St.
— “Pizza” cafe in Universitetskaya St.
— MUE AGD “Donelektroavtotrans” TTU in Shchorsa St.;
— infrastructure of the “Olimpiyskiy” Republican Sports Complex in Chelyuskintsev Street;
— 10A, Titova Ave. – a multi-apartment residential building;
— 149, Artyoma St., — a direct shell hit in a multi-apartment residential building;
— 102, 104, 104A, and 147A/G, Artyoma St., — multi-apartment residential buildings.
— 70, 74, 76, and 80, Universitetskaya St., — multi-apartment residential buildings.
— 65, Shchorsa St. — a multi-apartment residential building
— 10, Donbass Liberation Ave. — a multi-apartment residential building;
— 33, Patrioticheskaya Str. — a private residential building, the building was destroyed;
— 30, Patrioticheskaya Str. — a private residential building;
— 32, Kotsyubinskiy St. — a private residential building, the building was destroyed;
— the territory of the Forged Figures Park in Universitetskaya Str.
— fire outbreak in motor vehicles and a bus was recorded in Universitetskaya Str.
This investigation will examine in detail the shelling of the Kievskiy district of Donetsk, carried out on April 28, 2023.
As a result of the investigation, it was established, on April 28, 2023, at 1:10 p.m. and 1:11 p.m. Moscow time, the Kievskiy district of Donetsk, in particular, the Republican Traumatological Center, public transport and places of mass gathering of people, came under artillery fire from the Grad MLRS. The shells flew in a direction from west to east (azimuth 283 degrees, error making ± 15 degrees).
All shell hits fell on densely populated residential areas of the city and led to damage to civilian objects, death and injury to civilians. Thus, the principles of selectivity and proportionality were violated.
As a result of the analysis of news videos and information from the Internet, it was found that the Rocket Artillery Battery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine could be located in the sector from which the shelling was carried out. This unit is subordinate to the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade named after Yakov Handziuk under the command of Colonel Vadym Olegovych Sukharevskyi.