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. 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. The shelling killed one civilian and injured two others. 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. Russian artillery shelled Ukrainian territory repeatedly during the following days. Live videos had captured
Grad rockets fired from inside Russia. 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 (16 July to 8 August 2014), and
Khmelnytskyi (25 July 2014). 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. On 27 July, U.S. officials confirmed Russia had shelled Ukrainian territory. At the time, Russian government spokesman denied these allegations. On 28 July, US State Department published satellite photos showing heavy artillery shelling Ukrainian positions from Russian territory. The shelling had escalated at least one week prior to a
Russian invasion by stealth in August 2014. 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. ==References==