On January 24, 2015, at 9:15 a.m., Russian occupiers shelled the Skhidny microdistrict of Mariupol. The Ukrainian Armed Forces checkpoint in the village of Vynohradne was also hit by artillery fire from Russian terrorists on the left bank of the Kalmius River. As a result of the attack, 29 people were killed and 92 were wounded, including families, children, and teenagers.
Direct hits from Grad multiple rocket launchers were recorded in the Sхідний microdistrict on Kyivska Street, between schools No. 5 and No. 69, and near the Kyiv market. Residential areas, private sector, and the market in the Livoberezhny district of the city were in the strike zone.
At 10:20 a.m., a special OSCE monitoring mission arrived at the scene. The first consequences of the shelling and casualties were recorded. From 12:00 to 12:45, a meeting of the Headquarters for the Elimination of the Consequences of the Shelling of the Skhidny Residential District was held in Mariupol. At 13:09, the city authorities announced a gathering point near the Denis market for the transportation of residents to other areas of the city. The Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office classified the shelling of residential areas of Mariupol as a terrorist attack.
Later, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed four of the six Grad rocket launchers used to shell the city near Mariupol, along with their crews. Later, the fire control officer was also detained.
In June 2015, a monument to the victims of the shelling was unveiled in Mariupol. The memorial plaque was installed near a church, not far from the houses that came under Grad fire.
After the occupation of Mariupol, the enemy diligently destroyed the memory of its own crimes. The monument to the victims of this terrorist act was dismantled. But our memory of Russian terrorist acts cannot be erased. We believe that none of the occupiers' crimes will go unpunished.