{"id":36857,"date":"2023-12-26T03:31:58","date_gmt":"2023-12-26T03:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/?p=36857"},"modified":"2023-12-26T03:32:01","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T03:32:01","slug":"ukraine-denies-russian-capture-of-key-town-near-donetsk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/?p=36857","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine denies Russian capture of key town near Donetsk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BBC News:   <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said his troops have seized the key town of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine &#8211; a claim immediately denied by Kyiv.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin assault units had taken the &#8220;powerfully fortified&#8221; area just outside Donetsk, a Russian-held regional capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said &#8220;fighting for Mariinka&#8221; continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mariinka &#8211; seen as a gateway to Donetsk &#8211; has been almost completely destroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The claims by both Russia and Ukraine have not been independently verified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mariinka has been used by Ukraine as a defensive barrier since 2014, when Russia-backed fighters seized large swathes of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-60506682\">War in maps: Ukraine and Russia trade front line blows<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-europe-67801203\">The Ukrainian frontline city Russia could seize again<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At a televised meeting with President Putin on Monday, Mr Shoigu said: &#8220;The assault detachments of the South group today completely liberated the settlement of Mariinka, which is five kilometres [three miles] south-west of Donetsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;For nine years, the armed forces of Ukraine have made a powerful fortified area, which is connected by underground passages. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Thanks to the decisive actions of our servicemen, the fortified area has been cracked.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mr Putin hailed the reported capture as &#8220;success&#8221;, saying that Ukrainian troops had now been pushed further away from Donetsk, which they have been regularly shelling from Mariinka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Kremlin leader also said Russian forces now had the &#8220;opportunity to move into a wider operational area&#8221; in the Donetsk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Later on Monday, the Ukrainian military denied the Russian claim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was &#8220;incorrect to say that Mariinka is fully seized&#8221;, Mr Shtupun told Ukrainian TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Our soldiers are currently within the administrative borders of Mariinka,&#8221; the military spokesman added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ukrainian military bloggers earlier reported that Ukrainian troops were holding out in a small area of western Mariinka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BBC News: Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said his troops have seized the key town of Mariinka in eastern Ukraine &#8211; a claim immediately denied by Kyiv. Mr Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin assault units had taken the &#8220;powerfully fortified&#8221; area just outside Donetsk, a Russian-held regional capital. But Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said &#8220;fighting for Mariinka&#8221; continued. Mariinka &#8211; seen as a gateway to Donetsk &#8211; has been almost completely destroyed. The claims by both Russia and Ukraine have not been independently verified. Mariinka has been used by Ukraine as a defensive barrier since 2014, when Russia-backed&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-in-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36859,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36857\/revisions\/36859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gyalchisarshog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}