“The town of Marinka, located five kilometers southwest of Donetsk, was completely liberated today,” Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview with President Vladimir Putin. 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, 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 said.
“The liberation of the locality naturally reduces the defense capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and gives us additional opportunities to continue our action in this direction,” he added.
“A wider operational space”
Vladimir Putin welcomed the fact that the capture of Marinka 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 field of action of the artillery near Donetsk (…) and this today makes it possible to defend Donetsk more effectively against strikes”, also underlined Sergei Shoigu.
Marinka, as a fortified zone, “gives our troops the possibility of having a wider operational space”, for his part affirmed Vladimir Putin. Russian forces have regained the initiative on the front since the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, gaining ground particularly in the East.
In particular, they have been trying for several months to surround another stronghold, that of Avdiïvka, also in the East.