Battle of Marinka (2022–2023)

"[1] On 3 June 2015, Marinka was the site of a short battle between Ukrainian and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) forces, which ended with Ukraine remaining in control of the city and expelling the separatist fighters.[17] OSCE monitored 123 explosions south, southwest, and west of Donetsk city in the direction of Marinka on 25 February 2022, just after the full-scale invasion by Russian forces began.[39] Analysis by the British Ministry of Defence said that the effects of the Russian winter offensive were inconclusive in Marinka, with only minimal gains made despite "expending significant resources.[47] In October 2023, Ukrainian military officials said that Russian forces were launching renewed attacks across the eastern front, as well as transferring new units and equipment to the Marinka axis.[56][57] On 22 November, Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade claimed Russian troops had deployed over 300 kamikaze drones and stormed Ukrainian positions in Marinka over 150 times within the past week.[63] On 25 December, the Russian Ministry of Defence announced that its forces had fully captured Marinka,[11] however Shtupun denied the claim, insisting that Ukrainian troops remained within the city's administrative borders, without offering further detail.The New York Times reported that Ukrainian officials typically did not directly acknowledge the loss of a city or town, instead referring to their forces as "operating in the vicinity" of a captured settlement.[69] On 3 January 2024, Ukraine's General Staff stated its troops were fighting "in the vicinities" of Novomykhailivka and Heorhiivka, both villages located south and west of Marinka, respectively.[69] The Institute for the Study of War assessed that by 8 January, Russian forces had "marginally advanced" south of Novomykhailivka and were simultaneously attacking towards Heorhiivka, with the goal of capturing Kurakhove.[70] While declaring the capture of Marinka on 25 December 2023, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu remarked on the city's defenses, saying each street was "fairly well protected from all attacks from both the air and field artillery structures, long-term firing points and a complex system of underground communications" as Ukrainian troops had nine years to fortify the settlement."[79] The Institute for the Study of War assessed on 26 December 2023 that Russia's "likely" capture of Marinka represented a limited tactical gain but not a significant operational advance, unless Russian forces improved their "ability to conduct rapid mechanized forward movement".[64] Jack Watling, a research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, likewise argued that controlling Marinka was not "particularly significant" strategically, as the sheer amount of destruction from the battle did not allow it to be a critical logistics hub for either army.[69] Military analyst and retired Ukrainian army colonel Serhiy Hrabsky observed that Russia's capture of Marinka created "potentially significant" operational and strategic concerns for Ukraine.Hrabsky predicted the loss of Marinka would "significantly deteriorate" Ukraine's control of Novomykhailivka—located south of Marinka—and allowed Russian forces to increasingly threaten the northern flank of Vuhledar.