The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) claims that the potential capture of Maryinka does not imply an operationally significant advance by the Russian occupiers.
Will the Russian troops be able to quickly advance from Maryinka
According to the ISW analysts, the likely capture of Maryinka by the invadors is a limited tactical gain for Russia and does not bode well for operational progress unless "Russian forces can significantly improve their ability to make rapid mechanised forward movements, of which they show no signs".
According to geolocation footage from December 25, Russian troops could advance in the northern areas of the settlement. At the same time, ISW experts estimate that the occupiers probably control most, if not all, of Maryinka, despite the lack of visual confirmation of the complete capture of the village as of December 26.
As Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed, the capture of Maryinka will allegedly allow the Ukrainian Defense Forces to be pushed away from occupied Donetsk, and create a wider operational space for the Russian military.
Many Russian "military personnel" called the capture of Maryinka a "tactical victory" and claimed that it would allow the Russian army to conduct offensive operations in the direction of populated areas up to 15 km west of the village in the coming weeks and months, threatening the ground lines of communication of the Armed Forces of Ukraine .
Both Russian and Ukrainian officials have admitted that the fighting completely destroyed Maryinka, a small settlement with a population of approximately 9,000 people before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The small and completely destroyed settlement does not offer Russian troops a reliable operational bridgehead for further offensive actions, the report says.
Maryinka itself is located less than a kilometer from the front line before the invasion, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have long fortified many surrounding settlements, which the Russian army also tried to capture.
Russian troops are unlikely to make a quick operational advance from Maryinka, and reports of Russia's capture of the settlement at most create conditions for further limited tactical gains, the ISW report says.
Battles for Maryinka
On December 25, the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Serhiy Shoigu reported to the dictator Vladimir Putin that the Russian troops had allegedly completely occupied Maryinka.
Commenting on this information, the spokesman of the joint press center of the Defense Forces of the Tavria Division, Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, emphasized that it is incorrect to talk about the complete capture of the city, since our defenders are still in its administrative borders.
On December 26, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, noted that Ukrainian defenders are in the north of Maryinka. But part of the military has already moved to the outskirts and even further.
The military also said that the Russian occupiers continue to shell Maryinka with the help of artillery. This comes after their claims of alleged full control over the city.
According to the Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, the AFU control a small part of Maryinka, and the town has been reduced to rubble.
