Battle of Marinka (2015)

According to the Ukrainian military, fighting around the government-held town of Marinka began at 3 a.m. 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 2 June to the morning of 3 June.^[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 had 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 stabilised 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] On 4 June, an AP reporter briefly visited the town and confirmed it was under government control, with troops conducting mop-up operations.^[14]

Fighting in and around Marinka left 20 separatists and four soldiers dead, while 99 separatists and 39 soldiers were wounded.^[9][6] An additional 9 civilians had been killed^[11] with a further 30 wounded.^[5] On 4 June, 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.^[7] 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.^[15]

The 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).^[16] Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the battle told Kyiv Post that they believed the battle was intended to test their capabilities.^[17] This view was echoed by Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.^[18] The rebels denied that they had attacked Marinka and described the fighting that took place at the town as them counter-attacking.^[15]

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Kyiv Post

Kyiv Post

The Kyiv Post is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden.

Choke point

Choke point

In military strategy, a choke point is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or bridge, or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass through in order to reach its objective, sometimes on a substantially narrowed front and therefore greatly decreasing its combat effectiveness by making it harder to bring superior numbers to bear. A choke point can allow a numerically inferior defending force to use the terrain as a force multiplier to thwart or ambush a much larger opponent, as the attacker cannot advance any further without first securing passage through the choke point.

Avdiivka

Avdiivka

Avdiivka (Ukrainian: Авдіївка, IPA: [ɐu̯ˈd ijiu̯kɐ]; is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the center of the oblast, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city had a pre-war population of 31,392 ; in August 2022, its population was estimated at 2,500.

Donetsk

Donetsk

Donetsk, formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka, Stalin and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast. The population was estimated at 901,645 in the city core, with over 2 million in the metropolitan area (2011). According to the 2001 census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.

Pavel Felgenhauer

Pavel Felgenhauer

Pavel Eugenievich Felgenhauer is a Russian military analyst known for his publications about Russia's political and military leadership.