by Sergey Adamov
[Regnum] The details of the assault on the last house that the Ukrainian Armed Forces held in Mar'inka, a city five kilometers southwest of Donetsk, and now a former bridgehead of the Ukrainian army, have become known .
“We developed an operation in advance to capture the last house and, under a salvo from the Solntsepek, ran to storm the last building,” said Alexander Troshin , commander of the motorized rifle battalion of the 5th Brigade of the Donetsk 1st Army Corps, on the Rossiya channel on December 26 . The assault became possible after a combined strike by aviation, artillery and kamikaze drones.
On December 25 at 15:15, battalion commander Troshin reported to the brigade commander that Mar'inka had come under the full control of Russian forces.
“Over nine years, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have built a powerful fortified area there” with a network of underground communications and firing points well protected from air strikes, noted Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, reporting to President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of Mar'inka.
In Kyiv, statements about the abandonment of Mar'inka are refuted, citing the fact that fighting for the city continues.
But information about the complete liberation of the city is also confirmed by Regnum news agency sources in the ranks of the Donetsk 1st Corps (formerly the DPR People's Militia). Over the past weeks, the main hostilities have occurred in the private sector, located on the right bank of the Osikovaya River.
After the liberation of the main urban development area, the enemy tried to hold the outskirts of Marinka along Ivan Franko and Lesya Ukrainka streets. However, the demoralized formations of the 79th Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were unable to organize any serious resistance and were pushed out of the city.
RETREAT TO KURAKHOVO
Earlier, Regnum news agency spoke in detail about the threat posed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ bridgehead in Mar'inka, taking into account the geographical location of this satellite city of Donetsk. After the liberation of Mar'inka, it is important to understand to what lines the enemy will retreat, where he will gain a foothold, and whether he will try to take revenge.
The surviving enemy forces retreated towards the village of Georgievka. But, according to Regnum news agency sources familiar with the situation, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are unlikely to be able to hold the defense for any long time in this area.
“As far as one can judge, the main defense center will continue to be built in the area of the city of Kurakhovo. It’s 15 kilometers from Marinka ,” the interlocutor explained.
Ammunition reserves and personnel are being created in Kurakhovo. The outskirts of the city are preparing for defense. “Trench radio reports that special equipment and other property will be removed from the city,” the source said.
This version is also supported by the behavior of employees of Ukrainian government agencies in Kurakhovo. The Novaya Poshta branch announced the cessation of work. The statement followed immediately after news of the complete liberation of Marinka by Russian troops. There are also reports of the evacuation of the local Ukrainian administration, the national police department and other services.
TWO CONSEQUENCES OF THE FALL OF MAR'INKA
For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, leaving the city means a number of tactical difficulties.
Firstly, the Mar'insky fortified area was one of the most powerful in the vicinity of Donetsk. The Ukrainian military has been actively creating fortifications throughout the years of the Minsk agreements. It is largely for this reason that the battles for the city lasted so long.
Secondly, now Ukrainian troops are deprived of a bridgehead hanging over the capital of the DPR. The enemy used the territory of Marinka not only for shelling Donetsk, but also for reconnaissance. Drones were launched from this area, which could conduct reconnaissance over the entire city. Now, conducting aerial reconnaissance will become significantly more complicated.
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And although the importance of the city is really great, sources located directly in the Donetsk direction urge not to exaggerate successes and not to rush troops forward right now. The Ukrainian Armed Forces were preparing for the surrender of Maryinka and diligently delayed urban battles in order to prepare new defensive lines.
“Now this euphoria needs to be somehow reduced. The battles for Mar'inka were very difficult, the units needed rest, rotation, and replenishment,” shares IA Regnum’s interlocutor. “A few days after I arrived from that area, the city was almost completely destroyed, this makes it difficult to camouflage equipment and deploy personnel. Therefore, we now need to solve a number of current problems. And only then talk about a “breakthrough”, “entering operational space” and so on ”
WHERE TO GO?
After the liberation of Mar'inka, several options for the development of the offensive open up for Russian troops.
There is the possibility of advancing along the H-18 highway immediately to Kurakhovo, bypassing the Ukrainian fortifications in Georgievka. There is not a single significant settlement along the entire route, which makes it difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to create a fortified area.
It also opens up the possibility of an attack from Mar'inka to the southwest in the direction of the settlements of Paraskovievka-Novomikhailovka.
Both villages have been turned into fortified areas, but now the possibility of their encirclement opens up. Next, the possibility arises of encircling the city of Ugledar, the last major fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on this section of the front.
Another option involves encircling the city of Krasnohorivka, another satellite of Donetsk, from whose territory active shelling of the DPR capital is being conducted.
It is possible that one of these scenarios will be implemented after the end of the fighting for Avdievka, another large enemy defensive area located north of Donetsk.
THE MOST IMPORTANT STAGE OF THE WINTER CAMPAIGN
“If the Armed Forces of Ukraine want to retain anything at all in the Donetsk direction, then they now also urgently need to carry out rotation,” notes a source from the Regnum news agency . — Remove damaged units for replenishment and use reserves. They now have a lot of crying in their networks about entire units that were completely destroyed in the Donetsk direction.”
The interlocutor added that the situation with the enemy “is really the same.”
“We need to take advantage of the moment and not let them adapt to the situation. But wisely, don’t rush ahead of the locomotive,” the interlocutor pointed out.
The liberation of Maryinka can be considered the first important stage of the winter campaign to defeat the forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction. According to information from the ground, Russian troops are expanding their bridgehead in this area, striking enemy positions in the village of Pobeda. Aviation is actively used, targeting fortified areas of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Also in recent days, Russian troops have again resumed their offensive on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Avdievka.
This is reported by both local sources and officials from the Ukrainian side. Over the past few days, the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the Avdeevka coke plant and on the southern and northern outskirts of the city have been under heavy fire from large-caliber artillery.
As in Marinka, the enemy’s powerful defensive structures are destroyed, opening the way forward for the infantry.
Against the backdrop of failures at the front in Kyiv, calls are increasingly heard for a transition to a blind defense in all directions. However, by giving the initiative to the Russian troops, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are creating serious problems for themselves.
“It is possible that now they will leave some of their positions in the Donetsk direction, because the configuration of the front is not at all in their favor. Somewhere 15–20 km from the current front line, a new one is now being created. The question is whether they will keep it. Until now, they have held on to long-term fortifications and urban development. It will be worse for them in the future,” sums up IA Regnum’s interlocutor .
The withdrawal from Donetsk, even if some of the forces are retained, will seriously affect the morale both in the Ukrainian trenches and in the rear. For Russian troops, the situation is much more favorable. And as the fortified lines from the time of the “Minsk agreements” remain in the rear, the question of a plan for the complete liberation of the entire territory of Donbass will begin to come to fruition.