November 2023 saw the end of the unsuccessful offensive attempt by the Ukrainian armed formations (UVF), which began on June 4. The initiative on the battlefield passed to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. In the area of the Donetsk agglomeration, active offensive operations began in Avdeyevka and Maryinka directions.
During the Avdeyevka offensive operation, Ukrainian artillery positions were suppressed to the north and west of the city. Donetsk was shelled primarily from this direction. Advancement in the Maryinka direction was much slower, and here Ukrainian artillery retained the ability to shell the western districts of the city.
On November 28, 2023, the pressure of Russian artillery on the UAF increased significantly, and offensive actions were carried out. Crushing and intense artillery duels were heard in the Avdeyevka, Maryinka and Ugledar directions.
At approximately 11:00 a.m., the Azotny microdistrict in the Kuibyshevskiy district of Donetsk was subjected to artillery shelling using MLRS. As a result of the incident, five civilians got injuries of varying severity: men born in 1970, 1953, 1999, 2000, and a woman born in 1956.
Damage was also recorded at 16 addresses:
— Comprehensive Secondary School No. 46 of Donetsk located in Valeriya Arsenova St.;
— Municipal Clinical Hospital No. 23 of Donetsk located in Tselinogradskaya St.;
— Skazka food store located at 60th Anniversary of the USSR St.
— Petrovich food store located at 60th Anniversary of the USSR St.
— 48, Buturlinovskaya St., a direct shell hit in a private residential house;
— 17, Valeriya Arsenova St., a direct shell hit in a multi-apartment residential building;
— 13, 15, 16A, 18, 19, Valeriya Arsenova St., multi-apartment buildings were damaged.
— 39, 41, Ostrovskogo St., multi-apartment buildings were damaged.
— 3, 7, Semionova-Tyan-Shanskogo St., multi-apartment buildings were damaged.
— 34, Ostrovskogo St., a private residential house was damaged.
As a result of the investigation, it was established, on November 28, 2023, at approximately 11:00 a.m. (Moscow time), the Kuibyshevskiy district of Donetsk, in particular, the “Azotny” residential microdistrict, came under artillery fire from the Grad MLRS using missiles manufactured in Eastern Europe. The shells flew in a direction from west-north-west to east-south-east (azimuth 280 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 11th battalion of the 59th separate motorized brigade named after Yakov Handzyuk, armed with the Grad MLRS, could be located in the shelling sector. The command of the 59th SMBr of Ukrainian Ground Forces is exercised by Colonel Vadim Olegovich Sukharevskiy. Precisely he is responsible for the actions of his subordinates from the 11th battalion. In addition, he could have given the order to launch an artillery strike on the Azotny microdistrict in the city of Donetsk.