London: Russia has probably gained control of Marinka

The town of Marinka near Donetsk is repeatedly mentioned in the same breath as nearby Avdiivka, which is also fiercely contested. Russian forces are said to be making progress in both towns. They may even have almost completely captured the former.

According to a report by the British secret service, Russian forces are said to have made successful "creeping advances through the ruins of Marinka", a town west of the city of Donetsk, in recent weeks. "Russia now probably controls most of the built-up area. However, Ukrainian forces continue to hold parts of the area on the western edge of the city," according to British intelligence.

The Kremlin forces' renewed efforts against Marinka are part of the Russian fall offensive, which is primarily aimed at expanding control over the remaining parts of the Donetsk region. According to London, this is "most likely" still one of Moscow's central war aims.

It was recently unclear who controls Marinka. However, unofficial reports already indicated that Russian troops were making progress there. A few days ago, the Ukrainian General Staff announced in its evening update that Moscow's forces had unsuccessfully attempted to advance on villages near Marinka. There have been repeated reports of heavy attacks in recent weeks.

The town has been on the front line since 2014. Around 9,000 people lived there before the war. According to British intelligence, Marinka is now completely destroyed. Drone footage shows that most of the buildings are in ruins. This is also indicated by images recently shared by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Marinka and Avdiivka are 35 kilometers apart

Most recently, Marinka was repeatedly mentioned in the same breath as Avdiivka, which is also heavily contested and lies around 35 kilometers to the north-east, in relation to Russian advances. Russian troops are also said to have advanced further and further in Avdiivka in recent weeks. The town is threatened with encirclement.

"The Russians continue to attack despite their heavy losses. The fighting is going back and forth, but according to Ukrainian soldiers, the pressure from the Russians is increasing day by day," Colonel Markus Reisner told ntv.de.

Statements from Kiev recently suggested that Ukraine could begin to focus more on the defensive rather than the offensive in many parts of the front. President Selensky had announced the accelerated construction of shelters and fortifications along all sections of the front. "The priority is obvious," he said in a video address.