Ukraine Acknowledges Partial Withdrawal After Important Donetsk Town is Captured by Russian Forces
Ukrainian troops have retreated to the “outskirts” of Maryinka, Kyiv’s top military commander said after Moscow announced that its forces had captured the eastern town after weeks of fighting.
“At this time, our troops are still in [Maryinka’s] northern areas,” Gen. Valery Zaluzhny told reporters on Dec. 26.
But he also admitted that Ukrainian forces had “retreated to the outskirts” of the town, which is located in the eastern Donetsk region. “This shouldn’t cause a public outcry,” he added. “This is the nature of war.”
Gen. Zaluzhny went on to stress Kyiv’s determination to defend every area of Ukraine, including Maryinka and the nearby towns of Avdiikva and Bakhmut.
Avdiivka, located roughly 25 miles northeast of Maryinka, has remained the scene of fierce fighting since mid-October.
Bakhmut, which sits some 30 miles north of Avdiivka, fell to Russian forces in May after nine months of bloody ground combat.
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Ukrainian forces attempted to retake Bakhmut during a months-long summer counteroffensive that ultimately failed to break through Russian lines of defense.
All three towns are in the eastern Donetsk region, which Russia effectively annexed—along with three other regions—late last year.
According to Russian sources, Ukraine has used Avdiivka and Maryinka to shell positions—military and civilian—in and around the Russian-held city of Donetsk (the capital of the region of the same name).
Moscow launched its invasion 22 months ago with the stated aim of protecting Russian-speakers in Ukraine and halting NATO’s further eastward expansion.
Backed by its powerful Western allies, Kyiv has vowed to continue fighting until it recovers all lost territories.
Shoigu: Town ‘Liberated’
Gen. Zaluzhny’s recent assertions came on the heels of claims by Moscow that its forces had decisively captured Maryinka.
On Dec. 25, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced that Russian assault units had “completely liberated” the flashpoint town.
“We have moved [Ukrainian] artillery away from Donetsk [city] quite significantly, further to the west,” Gen. Shoigu said during a televised briefing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This allows us to protect Donetsk from [artillery] strikes more effectively,” he added.
Mr. Putin, for his part, commended servicemen deployed at the front, saying the town’s capture would allow Russian forces to “expand their range of operations.”
The following day, Oleksandr Shtupun, a Ukrainian military spokesman, appeared to dispute Mr. Shoigu’s claims, insisting that fighting in Maryinka was still underway.
“Our troops remain deployed at Maryinka’s administrative boundaries,” Mr. Shtupun said in televised comments. “Battles for the city continue,” he said.
While Maryinka had been “totally destroyed” by the fighting, he added, “it’s wrong to say that the town has been completely captured [by Russia].”
The Epoch Times could not independently verify frontline reports by either side.
But on the evening of Dec. 26, at least one pro-Ukrainian war-tracking blog appeared to indicate that Maryinka had been almost entirely overrun.
Supply Lines at Risk
Vladislav Shurygin, a Russian military expert, told Russia’s TASS news agency on Dec. 26 that the town’s capture “clearly represents a breakthrough in Ukraine’s line of defense.”
“But this won’t change much for Donetsk,” he added, “because Ukrainian forces have switched to larger and longer-range Western-made artillery systems and will still be able to hit the city [of Donetsk].”
“To entirely eliminate the threat of artillery attacks, Ukrainian forces must be pushed 50 to 60 kilometers [31–37 miles] away from the city,” Mr. Shurygin said.
On Dec. 27, Igor Kimakovsky, a top official of the Moscow-recognized Donetsk People’s Republic, said the recent capture of Maryinka would allow Russian forces to cut key Ukrainian supply lines.
“It lets us block several highways used by the enemy to ensure cohesion among its military units and bring reinforcements and ammunition to the front line,” he told TASS.
According to Mr. Kimakovsky, Maryinka’s capture will likely be followed by Russian advances on the nearby towns of Kurakhove, Krasnohorivka, and Vuhledar.
Reuters contributed to this report.
