Anniversary of Ilovaisk Tragedy Marked in Kyiv

Ukrainians marked the second anniversary of the ‘Ilovaisk tragedy’ on Sofiyska Ploshcha in Kyiv, the event was attended by over a hundred mothers and widows of the killed servicemen, volunteer fighters, and activists, Interfax Ukraine reports.

On August 29, the participants are planning to gather under the walls of the Prosecutor General’s Office and are hoping to meet Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko to ask him about the progress of the investigation.

Hromadske.UA reports that the exhibition called ‘Memory Checkpoint’ was opened on Sofiyska Square. It features personal belonging of the killed fighters, spent cartridges — one for every locality that Ukrainian fighters had to pass on the way out of the encirclement.

Photo by hromadske.ua

The Ilovaisk tragedy happened in 2014, when Ukrainian forces were encircled on the eve of Independence Day. According to the preliminary investigation results, the losses on the Ukrainian side totaled 366 killed, 429 wounded, 128 captured, and 158 missing in action.

Military prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said that the main reason for the Ilovaisk tragedy was the invasion by over 3,500 Russian soldiers of Ukrainian territory without declaration of war.

According to the preliminary report of the temporary investigative commission, the tragedy was aggravated by mistakes in the appointment of senior defense officials, inadequate prior actions of the Minister of Defense Valeriy Heletey and Head of Staff Viktor Muzhenko, and the fact that the president did not introduce martial law.

The Ministry of Defense blames bad coordination between the Army and volunteer fighter units.

Source: Ukrayinska Pravda