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On the afternoon of December 24, Russian military reporters claimed that the Russian military took control of the last Ukrainian positions on the north-western outskirts of Mariinka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. These reports were confirmed by some Ukrainian sources.
According to preliminary reports, the town of Mariinka, where the battles have been ongoing for almost 8 years, finally ended. The last Ukrainian positions in the settlement were taken by the 5th Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Corps. The Russian military is expected to officially declare control of the town.
Meanwhile, Russian forces do not stop. Russian tanks are already destroying Ukrainian positions to the west of Mariinka. Ukrainian military sources confirmed that the Russian military had already advanced several hundred meters beyond the town and had taken control of new positions between Mariinka and Grigovoka as well as to the south, approaching the village of Pobeda.
At the same time, Russian forces are advancing on the southern flank of Mariinka. Over the past week, the Russian military took control of the Ukrainian stronghold called Zverinets, which was established in an abandoned farm north od Novomikhailovka. The control of the stronghold allowed Russian forces to approach the village of Novomikhailovka from the third, north-eastern direction.
Meanwhile, clashes are already ongoing on the eastern and southern outskirts of the village. The Ukrainian grouping in the village is heavily shelled by Russian artillery.
The media close that are close to the Armed Forces of Ukraine admit tha the situation is critical for the Ukrainian military in the Mariinka region.
