Ukraine said it was defending territory behind the eastern frontline town. Its capture would be Russia’s most significant territorial advance in Ukraine in more than six months.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that its troops were fighting “in the vicinities” of a village behind the eastern frontline town of Marinka, a strong indication that Kyiv’s forces have lost control of the town, more than a week after Moscow claimed to have seized it.Open-source maps of the battlefield also show that Russian troops have a foothold throughout Marinka.
Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top commander, acknowledged last week that Ukrainian troops had all but retreated to the outskirts, saying that Marinka “no longer exists” because Russian forces had reduced it to rubble with relentless shelling.
Several Ukrainian military analysts said that Ukrainian troops had established defensive lines just outside the town and were currently fending off further Russian advances.“It seems that Ukrainian forces are out of Marinka but they continue fighting in defensive positions just outside of it,” said Oleksandr Musiienko, the head of the Kyiv-based Center for Military Legal Studies.
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