Ukraine's summer counter-offensive campaign did not achieve the expected results (Illustration photo: CPA).
Speaking at a rare press conference on December 26, Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny confirmed that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from the city of Marinka west of Donetsk.
He compared Ukraine's losses on this front in recent months with those Kiev suffered earlier this year on the Bakhmut front.
"The situation is exactly the same as in Bakhmut, every street, every block and every soldier of ours is being targeted. This is a war, so there is nothing to complain about when we retreat to the suburbs and set up positions to support Marinka in some areas. That's what war is," Zaluzhny said.
The confirmation came shortly after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Moscow had taken full control of Marinka.
Ukrainian officials initially rejected the Russian claim, saying Ukrainian forces were continuing to fight inside Marinka’s administrative borders. However, Mr Zaluzhny said the Ukrainian army was now operating only on the northern outskirts of the city. He stressed that while every inch of land was important to Ukraine, “the lives of our soldiers are more important”.
Marinka connects Donetsk city and Zaporizhia province via the N15 highway, making it strategically important. Taking control of Marinka would mean Russia could reduce the threat of Ukrainian shelling of Russian forces in Donetsk city.
Marinka is a key link in Russia's plan to expand its control in eastern Ukraine.
The city of Marinka is located in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine (Map: Al Jazeera).
Russian Defense Minister Shoigu said yesterday that Russia has achieved the main goals of its special military operation in Ukraine in 2023.
According to Mr. Shoigu, Russia's main goal in 2023 is to prevent a counterattack by the Ukrainian armed forces. "This task has been completed," Minister Shoigu said.
Kiev launched a new counteroffensive in early June this year, hoping to achieve breakthrough results like the one it achieved last fall. Kiev's main goal is to cut off the land corridor connecting the Crimean peninsula with southern Ukraine and western Russia and to divide the enemy forces.
However, Ukraine quickly admitted that the counter-offensive campaign did not achieve the expected results for a number of reasons, including the West's delay in delivering weapons that Kiev needed.
On the other hand, officials of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration have dismissed the idea that the war with Russia has reached a stalemate. Kiev claims to have recaptured several villages, launched missile and drone attacks on the Crimean peninsula, disrupting Russian logistics, and successfully crossed the front line on the Dnieper River.
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