Russia said Monday that its forces have captured Maryinka, a town in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region that has been all but destroyed during Moscow’s invasion.
“The assault detachment of the ‘South’ grouping completely liberated the settlement of Maryinka today,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting.
Kyiv has not yet commented on Moscow’s claim.
Shoigu said Maryinka had been heavily fortified by the Ukrainian armed forces over the past nine years.
Located 5 kilometers southwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, which has been under regular shelling attacks in recent months, Maryinka had a population of around 10,000 before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The town has been reduced to rubble in the 22 months since Russia’s invasion.
Putin said at his meeting with Shoigu that the capture of Maryinka helped push Ukrainian troops further from Donetsk.
He offered to present the soldiers who had distinguished themselves in the battle for Maryinka with state awards.