Battle of Marinka

Battle of Marinka
Part of War in Donbass

Ukrainian flag flying over Marinka water tower in 2014
Date3 June 2015
LocationMarinka and Krasnohorivka, Ukraine
Result

Ceasefire

  • Ukrainian forces recapture Marinka after a part of it was briefly captured by the separatists[1]
Belligerents
 Ukraine  Donetsk People's Republic
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Akhra Avidzba (nom de guerre Abkhaz)[2]
Units involved

Ukrainian Ground Forces:

Novorossiya Armed Forces:

Strength
Unknown ~1,000[5]
Casualties and losses
5 killed,[6] 39 wounded,[7] 1 captured[8] 35 killed,[9] 185 wounded[9][10]
9 civilians killed and 30 wounded[5][11]

The Battle of Marinka was a short battle in the War in Donbass in and around Marinka, Donetsk Oblast. It involved the Ukrainian 28th Guards Mechanised Brigade, 30th Mechanized Brigade, 43rd Artillery Brigade and 93rd Mechanized Brigade.

The battle

According to the Ukrainian military, fighting around the government-held town of Marinka began at 3 a.m. in the morning of 3 June when separatists launched an offensive with tanks and 1,000 fighters.[5] The DPR stated that this attack was in response to the heavy Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk, Horlivka, Staromykhailivka and Yenakiieve on the night of June 2 to the morning of June 3.[12] They added that those shellings killed 15 people in DPR-held territory near Marinka.[5] The separatist attack began with artillery fire, followed by an infantry and tank assault as the sun came up.[1] The fighting lasted nearly 12 hours before stopping, but resumed again soon after.[5] The fighting had also spread to Krasnohorivka, and both towns were in flames as bloody and chaotic street battles took place. Rocket and artillery fire was also exchanged.[1][13]

By the end of the day, the rebels gained control over a portion of the town, with a Ukrainian member of parliament saying 70 percent of Marinka was DPR-held.[1] The situation in Marinka stabilized during the early evening as a cease-fire took hold.[13] The Ukrainian military stated that the cease-fire restored their control of the town[1] and both the Donetsk People's Republic's Defence Minister Vladimir Kononov and the Ukrainian military confirmed to the OSCE that Marinka was under Ukrainian control.[13] Fighting in and around Marinka left 20 separatists and four soldiers dead, while 99 separatists and 39 soldiers were wounded.[7][9] An additional 9 civilians had been killed[11] with a further 30 wounded.[5]

Kyiv Post quoted Ukrainian military commanders who said that if the separatists had captured Marinka and Krasnohorivka it would have created a choke point for the Ukrainian forces at Pisky and Avdiivka (north and northwest of Donetsk).[14] Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the battle told Kyiv Post that they believed the battle was intended to test their capabilities.[15] This view was echoed by Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.[16]

Aftermath

On 4 June, an AP reporter briefly visited the town and confirmed it was under government control, with troops conducting mop-up operations.[17] In the same day, according to the DPR, Ukrainian government artillery and mortar fire continued to hit multiple DPR-held cities, including Donetsk, leaving 16 separatist fighters and five civilians dead, while 86 fighters and 38 civilians were wounded.[10] The following day, the Ukrainian president claimed the military had recaptured Marinka, after expelling the separatists, and captured 12 "saboteurs", including one Russian citizen. His claim was not independently confirmed. The rebels denied they attacked Marinka and described the fighting that took place at the town as them counter-attacking.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Andrew E. Kramer (3 June 2015). "At Least 19 Killed in Fighting in Eastern Ukraine". New York Times. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 ""Pyatnashka" commander becomes a dad". Novorossia Today. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Battle rages for Marinka, 25 Ukrainian soldiers reported wounded". Unian. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "Fighting near Maryinka recorded by military correspondent". Novorossia Today. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ukraine forces, separatists fight first serious battles in months". Reuters. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Книга пам'яті загиблих [Book of remembrance of the fallen] (in Ukrainian). memorybook.org.ua. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Five Ukrainian soldiers killed, 39 injured in Donbas on June 3 – presidential adviser". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Halya Coynash (8 June 2015). "Another Ukrainian prisoner tortured for Russian TV". KyivPost. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 "9 civilians, 35 militias killed in DPR over past week — human rights ombudsman". TASS. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  10. 1 2 "At least 21 killed in shellings in east Ukraine's Donetsk republic — DPR spokesman". TASS. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  11. 1 2 "28 killed in recent Maryinka battle – UN". uatoday.tv. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "DPR Army liberated locality Maryinka to the west of Donetsk". Novorossia Today. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  13. 1 2 3 Michael Bociurkiw; Iryna Gudyma (4 June 2015). "Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 3 June 2015: Fighting around Marinka". Kiev: OSCE. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Allison Quinn (5 June 2015). "Minsk Is Dead: Now What?". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  15. ↑ Allison Quinn (2 July 2015). "Russian warmongering keeps everyone on edge". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  16. ↑ (Russian) Russian military experts: Russia is ready to attack again, Ukrayinska Pravda (10 July 2015)
  17. ↑ Mstyslav Chernov; Peter Leonard (4 June 2015). "Eastern Ukraine tense after outbreak of fighting". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2015-06-05. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Tom Burridge (6 June 2015). "Ukraine's Poroshenko says rebels ousted from Maryinka". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2015.

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