Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Monday announced the full liberation of Maryinka, a town located immediately to the west of Donetsk. The town had been a major stronghold for the Ukrainian military, and intense fighting has left it heavily damaged.
RT’s Igor Zhdanov filmed inside the ravaged town during the final days of the battle for it, and was there filming when Moscow was announcing its liberation. Maryinka remains unsafe, with fighting still ongoing very close to the town.
No structure was left intact in the town, which was once home to over 10,000 people; RT drone footage has revealed widespread destruction across Maryinka. Kiev’s forces drove locals out long ago, turning nearly every building into an armed redoubt. What’s left of the town’s streets is littered with destroyed military hardware, both Ukrainian and Russian, footage shows.
The liberation of the town was announced by Shoigu during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Today, assault units with the troops grouping South fully liberated the town of Maryinka to the southwest of Donetsk,” the minister said.
The development opens new opportunities for the Russian military, as well as drives the Ukrainian forces farther from Donetsk, Putin noted. The president congratulated all the troops who had been involved in the battle for Maryinka “at different stages,” tasking Shoigu with awarding the most distinguished servicemen.
Maryinka has seen combat of varying intensity for nearly a decade already, first between Kiev’s troops and the rebels of then-Ukrainian Donbass and now between the Russian and Ukrainian militaries. The town served not only as a stronghold for the Ukrainian forces, but was among key staging points for the attack on Donetsk itself. The city has been routinely subjected to indiscriminate artillery and missile attacks on an almost daily basis amid the hostilities.
The fighting over Maryinka intensified in recent months, with Russian forces gradually seizing key locations across the town. The advance has proven to be extremely difficult, given the vast system of reinforced concrete bunkers and underground tunnels created by the Ukrainians inside Maryinka over the years.