2023-12-26 15:39:00
OLEKSII FILIPPOV / AFP The town of Mariinka in the Donetsk region has been at the heart of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians since 2014 (photo taken in February 2022 before the start of the Russian ground attack in Ukraine).
OLEKSII FILIPPOV / AFP
The town of Mariinka in the Donetsk region has been at the heart of fighting between Russians and Ukrainians since 2014 (photo taken in February 2022 before the start of the Russian ground attack in Ukraine).
UKRAINE – Who controls Mariinka? This Ukrainian town located in the east of the country has been disputed by the Russians since 2014. Moscow announced this Monday, December 25, that it had taken possession of the town of this locality. But a few minutes following the announcement by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Shtupoun, declared that he was « incorrect » to evoke this total position.
Finally, kyiv admitted its failure in the followingnoon. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valery Zalouzhny, claimed that his forces had withdrawn towards ” the suburbs “ of the city, noting the departure of its soldiers from the heart of the city. This one is “completely destroyed”.
Marinka had been transformed by the Ukrainian army into a stronghold since 2014 and the start of a conflict with pro-Russian separatists led by Moscow, who had seized in particular the city of Donetsk.
According to Sergei Shoigu, who was seen talking on television with Vladimir Putin, Marinka is “a powerful fortified area connected by underground passages” which protect it from artillery and air strikes. “Thanks to the decisive actions of our soldiers, the fortress was cracked, he congratulated himself. The liberation of the settlement naturally reduces the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and gives us additional opportunities to continue our actions in this direction. »
Capital for supremacy in Donetsk
For Vladimir Putin, this victory is all the more important as it keeps Ukrainian troops away from Donetsk, the regional capital under Russian control which has been regularly targeted by Ukrainian bombings since 2014. “We have significantly pushed back the range of artillery action near Donetsk (…) and this today makes it possible to defend Donetsk more effectively once morest strikes”assured Sergei Shoigu.
Marinka, as a fortified zone, “gives our troops the possibility of having a wider operational space”, for his part affirmed Vladimir Putin. This victory, if it were to be confirmed, testifies to the progressive gains made in the East by Russian troops since the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. It might announce a decisive advance towards another stronghold, that of Avdiïvka, which the Kremlin army has been surrounding for months.
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