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MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian forces have taken control of Maryinka, a town in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin said control of the town, which once had a population of 10,000, would allow Russian forces to keep enemy combat units away from Donetsk.
“Our troops (now) have the possibility of reaching a wider operational area,” he said in a video showing him during his exchange with Sergei Shoigu.
Russia’s last major battlefield success was the capture of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May after months of intense urban fighting.
The Ukrainian military on Monday denied Russia’s claims.
“It is inaccurate to talk about the capture of Maryinka,” said Oleksandr Shtupoun, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army. “Our forces are in the city.”
(Reporting Vladimir Soldatkin and Pavel Polityuk; French version Camille Raynaud)
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