16 March 2022 Chernihiv Breadline Attack

On 16 March 2022, an attack attributed to Russian forces killed at least 18 civilians and injured 26 others who were standing in a line waiting to buy bread in Chernihiv, Ukraine. The attack occurred at approximately 10:00 (UTC+3) amid the wider Russian invasion of Ukraine, which had begun on 24 February 2022.

Chernihiv had already suffered significant civilian casualties in the weeks preceding the attack. On 3 March 2022, a bombing in the city killed 47 people. The following day, Russian major general Andrei Sukhovetsky, then deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army, was killed, marking the first death of a Russian general during the invasion. On 10 March, the city came under siege, which continued until 31 March when Ukrainian forces broke the encirclement. Governor of Chernihiv Oblast Vyacheslav Chaus reported that Russian attacks on the city on 16 March alone killed a total of 53 people, with the breadline attack forming part of that toll.

The breadline attack was reported by Governor Chaus and by the United States Embassy in Kyiv. Chaus, speaking on Ukrainian television, described the incident as a bombing and stated it was "not the first such incoming shell, nor is it the first shelling of civilians by the enemy." The US Embassy characterized the victims as having been "shot and killed." Local authorities reported 18 people dead. Victims were reported to have been struck by a blast from heavy artillery. The people in the line were unarmed; some survivors were taken to medical facilities by Chernihiv police.

Among those killed was James Whitney Hill, a 67-year-old US citizen from Minnesota. Hill, known on social media as "Jimmy Hill," was an English-language teacher who had chosen not to leave Ukraine when the war began in order to care for his partner Iryna, a Ukrainian citizen. His death was confirmed by Chernihiv Patrol Police and the US State Department.

Approximately four hours after the attack, the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office filed a legal case regarding the incident, and the Chernihiv Oblast branch of the Security Service of Ukraine opened an investigation.