Donbass – Ukrainian Army Fires With Portable Grad Rocket Launcher On Northern Outskirts Of Donetsk

Early in the morning of 4 March 2021, the Ukrainian army used a portable Grad rocket launcher (Grad-P system, or Grad “Partisan”) against a residential building on the northern outskirts of Donetsk, damaging the building but without civilian casualties.

After several days of relentless fighting against Yelenovka and the surrounding villages, the Ukrainian army heavily shelled the south of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), firing 100 82-mm mortar shells in 24 hours against this part of the front line, from 2 to 3 March 2021.

On 3 March 2021 a little before noon, soldiers of the DPR People’ s Militia spotted children between their positions and those of the Ukrainian army, near Avdeyevka (something which unfortunately happens regularly).

Employees of the DPR Interior Ministry then went to the scene to find the children and evacuate them. But a Ukrainian sniper shot at the group of employees and killed Sergeant Vladislav Voyna, interrupting the evacuation operation.

Sniper fire is prohibited by both the Minsk Agreements and the additional ceasefire control measures. This shooting therefore clearly shows that Ukraine does not respect the agreements it has signed, contrary to what it publicly claims. Sergeant Voyna was posthumously awarded the St. George Cross.

Then on the morning of 4 March, the DPR representation in the JCCC (Joint Ceasefire Control and Coordination Centre) announced that the Ukrainian army had fired eight 120-mm mortar shells at Spartak and the northern outskirts of Donetsk, where a building was reported to have been hit by one of the shots.

What was the surprise of the DPR representatives in the JCCC, once they arrived on the scene, when they realised that it was not a mortar shell that had hit the building, but a 122 mm Grad-P (also known as Grad “Partisan”) rocket, i.e. a Grad rocket fired, not by a multiple rocket launcher as is usually the case, but by a portable rocket launcher.

This type of rocket launcher was developed by the USSR at the time of the Vietnam War to meet the particular needs of this theatre of operations, where the use of conventional artillery was often very difficult. The partisans needed a portable system capable of inflicting the same damage as a “conventional” artillery piece.

The USSR therefore developed the Grad-P, or Grad “Partisan” system to meet this need, and created this portable rocket launcher system. Grad rockets were also adapted to be fired with this system.

While the multiple rocket launchers have not been used in the Donbass since 16 May 2018, the photos taken on site by the JCCC unfortunately leave no doubt as to the type of weapon used.

Against the backdrop of an escalating situation, the last meeting of the trilateral contact group was once again a failure, with Ukraine using every conceivable technique to put the brakes on the discussions, including asking the OSCE to provide a translation from Russian into Ukrainian, despite the fact that the negotiations have been conducted in Russian for seven years and that the Ukrainian representatives speak that language perfectly, as the OSCE representative, Heidi Grau, reminded them!

As can be seen, Ukraine is not seeking peace, but war in the Donbass, and the use by the Ukrainian army of a portable Grad rocket launcher system against a residential area in Donetsk raises fears of an escalation in the calibre of the weapons used by Kiev against civilians in the DPR and LPR in the coming weeks.

Christelle Néant