The fight for Marinka

Heavy shelling returns to eastern Ukraine

All day on June 3, the Ukrainian Army and separatists battled for the town of Marinka in the Donetsk Region. In violation of the Minsk Agreements, both sides used heavy artillery. Civilians were among those injured in the fighting. Both sides blame each other for the escalation. For now, Marinka remains under the control of the Ukrainian Army. Whether or not the fighting will continue in coming days remains unclear. Meduza has compiled a short account of the main developments readers need to know about the situation unfolding in Marinka.

There's been sporadic gunfire in the area throughout recent weeks.Marinka is a district center with a population of around 10,000 (prior to the beginning of the conflict). It is under the control of Ukrainian forces, but the ceasefire line runs nearby. After the signing of the Minsk Agreements in February 2015 the situation in the area stabilized, though by May accusations of gunfire in violation of the ceasefire were coming from the two sides almost daily. On May 8, the Ukrainian military closed checkpoints in the Marinka district and accused separatists of efforts to break through the front in exactly this spot. In turn, separatists are convinced that Ukrainian Grad rockets—to be removed from the area under the Minsk Agreements—have been concentrated in the Marinka district.

Marinka is an important part of the Ukrainian Army’s defenses. According to Valentin Manko, the deputy commander of Dnepr-1 regiment (a corps of Ukrainian volunteers affiliated with the right-wing group Pravy Sektor), in case of a separatist breakthrough in the Marinka district, Ukrainian forces could find themselves in yet another encirclement. This is precisely the tactic pursued during the attack on Debaltsevo, which was wrested by separatists from the Ukrainian Army after weeks of intense fighting in mid-February 2015.

The clashes on June 3 were among the worst since the beginning of spring. The firefight at Marinka started in the night and continued throughout the day. Both sides blamed the other for initiating combat and for the use of heavy weaponry banned under the Minsk Agreements. Precise details of what has taken place in Marinka remain unclear, but all sources agree in reporting that separatists had managed—at least for a short time—to make incursions deep into the town. Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) spokesperson Eduard Basurin claimed that there had, in fact, been no separatist offensive. Instead, he maintained, Ukrainian troops have simply abandoned their positions. Yet the separatist news agency Novorossia reported on the progress of a concentrated attack.

Ukrainian Army volunteers reported on the retreat of local outposts, but by evening Ukraine’s Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak claimed the separatist attack had been repelled. Towards nightfall active combat subsided, though isolated gunfire continued. Skirmishes were also reported June 3 at other points along the front line.

The fighting has resulted in casualties on both sides, as well as among the local civilian population. At present, it is impossible to provide even estimated numbers of those killed in the Marinka district on June 3. Ukrainian sources have reported the deaths of one soldier and one civilian, in addition to twenty wounded. The DNR has produced a totally different figure, reporting 30 Ukrainian soldiers killed in combat. A similar divergence has emerged on casualty counts from the separatist side. It is worth noting that Ukraine has confirmed the use of heavy weaponry, which raises the possibility that collateral civilian casualties could rise.

What happens next? Hard to say. Both sides accuse their opponent of amassing forces in the area around Marinka—with reports including both tanks and self-propelled artillery systems. This could be an indication of plans to continue the battle. On the other hand, Ukrainian Presidential Administration spokesperson Andrei Lysenko has said this should not be considered a full-scale separatist offensive, with the attack localized to a small portion of the front. Ukraine has made an official appeal for Russia to use its influence with the separatists to stop the fighting. Russia continues to deny involvement in the conflict. Discussions to facilitate a ceasefire under the auspices of the OSCE are already underway, but no results have been reported. OSCE—which issues daily briefings on the situation in Ukraine—has yet to report on the events of June 3.