Shoigu reports the capture of Marjinka to Putin
The small town of Marjinka in eastern Ukraine has been completely destroyed since the Russian attack. In talks with the Russian President, Defense Minister Shoigu announces the "liberation" of the ghost town. There is opposition from Ukraine.
According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Russian army has captured the small town of Maryinka in eastern Ukraine. Marjinka, located five kilometers southwest of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, was "completely liberated today", said Shoigu in a televised conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, the Ukrainian army explained shortly afterwards that the village was by no means fully controlled by the Russians. "The battle for Mariinka continues," said an army spokesman. There are still Ukrainian soldiers in the small town, which is "completely destroyed".
The Ukrainian army had already fortified Mariinka in 2014. At that time, pro-Russian separatists controlled by Moscow had taken Donetsk. Russian Defense Minister Shoigu spoke to Putin about the "powerful fortifications" and "underground passages" that Ukraine had built in Mariinka. The fortress had been conquered thanks to the "determined actions of our soldiers".
Putin hopes for "further advances"
Putin called the capture a "success", as it could reduce the Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk. Shoigu said that the "field of action" of the Ukrainian artillery near Donetsk would be "considerably reduced" as a result. The alleged capture of Marjinka, located almost 30 kilometers southwest of the regional capital Donetsk, would allow Russia's army to advance further in the region, Putin said. The Kremlin leader, who himself ordered the brutal war of aggression against the neighboring country almost two years ago, met Shoigu on the sidelines of a visit to the Northern Fleet in St. Petersburg.
Heavy fighting had repeatedly been reported in recent weeks around Mariinka, which had a population of around 9,000 before the start of the Russian war of aggression. In mid-December, the British Ministry of Defense also reported in one of its daily Ukraine bulletins that Russia had further reduced the small areas that were still under Ukrainian control there. The Kremlin troops have also been trying to surround the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka for several months.
There has been no talk of Ukrainian offensive actions for some time now. Following the widespread failure of the summer offensive, the Kiev troops are now preparing for defense. Ukraine has been fending off a large-scale Russian invasion for almost 22 months. Including the Crimean peninsula, around a fifth of Ukraine's territory is occupied by Russian soldiers.
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Source: www.ntv.de
