Ukrainian officials have denied claims that Russia has seized Mariinka, near Donestsk.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country seized the eastern Ukrainian city after strike groups claimed the “heavily fortified” area, the BBC reports. The city is close to the Russian-controlled regional capital.
Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun, however, denied the claim. He said this in Mariinka on Tuesday morning.
Known as the gateway to Donetsk, Mariinka was virtually destroyed by the conflict. The claims by Ukraine and Russia have not yet been independently verified.
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Mariinka has served as a defensive barrier for Ukraine since 2014, when Russian forces seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In a televised meeting with President Putin on Monday, Shoigu said: “The strike detachments of the Southern Group today completely liberated the settlement of Mariinka, five kilometers southwest of Donetsk.
“For nine years, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have built a resilient fortified zone, connected through underground passages. Each street has its own structures that are well fortified and resist quite well all attacks, whether air or artillery, for a long time. Time: long-term firing stations, complex underground communication systems.
“Thanks to the decisive actions of our servicemen, the fortified area has been cracked.”
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Putin hailed the report as a “success” and said Ukrainian troops had been pushed farther away from Donetsk, which he shelled from Mariinka. The Kremlin also said Russian forces “have the opportunity to move into a wider operational zone” in the region.
On Monday, the Ukrainian military denied the claims. Shtupun said it is “inaccurate to say that Mariinka is fully occupied. “He added: “Our infantrymen have been within the administrative borders of Mariinka lately. “
In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified their attacks on key battlefields in Ukraine. Together with Mariinka, they seek to encircle Avdiivka, the key city near Donetsk.
It comes as Ukranian forces aim to extend their bridgehead to the left bank of the Dnipro river.
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