• Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s Alleged Victory in Mariinka.
• Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun refuted the claim.
• Mariinka, a crucial gateway to Donetsk, has suffered extensive destruction.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu asserted that Russian forces successfully seized the strategically vital town of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine. He informed President Vladimir Putin about the alleged victory. He also describes Mariinka as a heavily fortified area just outside Donetsk, a regional capital under Russian control. However, the Ukrainian military, through spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun, promptly refuted the claim, stating that the battle for Mariinka was ongoing.

Mariinka, considered a crucial gateway to Donetsk, has suffered extensive destruction amid the conflict. Despite Russian assertions, Ukrainian forces maintain their position, denying any occupation of the town. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a Russian warship sustained damage in a Ukrainian attack on the occupied Crimea port of Feodosiya. Ukrainian Air Force head reported that warplanes targeted the landing ship Novocherkassk.

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu informed President Putin that Russian forces had effectively halted Ukraine’s counter-offensive. Mariinka, once home to 10,000 people, has remained under Ukrainian control since the conflict began in 2014. The town faced relentless attacks during the 2022 full-scale invasion, leading to its evacuation. As the situation unfolds, contradictory reports underscore the complex and evolving nature of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

“For nine years, the armed forces of Ukraine have made a powerful fortified area, which is connected by underground passages,” Mr Shoigu said, adding that this fortified area had now been cracked.

“Each street has its own well-fortified and fairly well-protected structures from all attacks, both from the air and artillery, long-term firing points, complex underground communication systems.”

President Putin celebrated the claimed capture as a “success,” expressing satisfaction that Ukrainian troops had been pushed back from Donetsk. Mariinka, reportedly under Russian control, served as a launching point for regular shelling of Donetsk by Ukrainian forces. Putin asserted that the reported victory provided Russian forces with the chance to expand their operational reach within the Donetsk region.

However, on the same day, the Ukrainian military contradicted the Russian assertion, denying that Mariinka had fallen under Russian control. This conflicting information highlights the ongoing uncertainty and complexity surrounding the situation in eastern Ukraine.

It was “incorrect to say that Mariinka is fully seized”, Mr. Shtupun told Ukrainian TV.

“Our soldiers are currently within the administrative borders of Mariinka,” the military spokesman added.

Earlier reports from Ukrainian military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian troops were maintaining their position in a small area in the western part of Mariinka. Since 2014, when Russia-backed fighters took control of significant portions of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Mariinka has been strategically utilized by Ukraine as a defensive stronghold.