Ratki

A rocket attack on Mariupol was launched on 24 January 2015 by Russian and pro-Russian forces against the strategic maritime city of Mariupol, defended by Ukrainian government forces. Mariupol had come under attack multiple times in the previous year in the course of the War in Donbas, including in May–June 2014, when the city was under the control of Russian controlled forces; and in the September 2014 offensive.

On 24 January 2015, the Mariupol city council and regional police said the city was subjected to indiscriminate rocket fire from the long-range Grad systems, killing at least 30 and injuring 128. Ukrainian officials said the rebels and the Russian military were responsible. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the attack was ordered by full-time Russian military commanders. In 2018, the Bellingcat open-data investigative group revealed evidence that officers and equipment of Russian forces were directly involved in the attack. The rebels denied the attack, but their leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, announced an offensive against Mariupol in the early morning of this day.

According to a spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, the Grad and Uragan rockets originated from the areas controlled by the pro-Russian forces. United Nations political chief Jeffrey D. Feltman said the attacks "knowingly targeted civilians," violated international humanitarian law, and could amount to war crimes. The attack on Mariupol came 11 days after the deadly Volnovakha bus attack, when a rocket strike targeted a government checkpoint in the town of Volnovakha, hitting a passenger bus which resulted in the death of 12 civilians. Government officials attributed the incident to the separatists, but the rebels denied carrying out the attack.