The Russian army has taken control of the village of Marinka, near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Monday, allowing Moscow to continue its offensive towards the West in this region.
“The town of Marinka, located five kilometers southwest of Donetsk, was completely liberated today,” 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 Mr. 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.
Mr. 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 significantly pushed back the range of artillery action near Donetsk […] and this now makes it possible to defend Donetsk more effectively against strikes,” Mr. Shoigu also underlined.
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.