UKRAINE-CRISIS/MARYINKA AFTERMATH Ukraine soldiers say embattled Maryinka under their control

Record ID: 150190

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/MARYINKA AFTERMATH Ukraine soldiers say embattled Maryinka under their control
  • Date: 5th June 2015
  • Summary: MARYINKA, UKRAINE (JUNE 5, 2015) (REUTERS) UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS STANDING AT BLOCK POST IN MARYINKA ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER (APC) WHEELS AND TRACKS IN SOIL, AND DUGOUT APC IN DUGOUT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UKRAINE SOLDIER FROM 28TH GUARDS MECHANISED BRIGADE, NOME DE GUERRE "FIN", SAYING: "It was 3:30 when the shelling started. Later mortars were put to use. It then became cl
  • Embargoed: 20th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8MU71YDPQN8KMDXEKSAJ7Z4VE
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Ukrainian forces said on Friday (June 5) they had ousted Russian-backed separatists from the embattled town of Maryinka in eastern Ukraine, two days after an escalation in fighting.
    Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists on Wednesday fought their first serious battles in months and Ukraine's defence minister said an attempt by rebels to take Maryinka had been thwarted.
    At a block post near the border of the town on Friday, an APC was positioned in a dugout and soldiers monitored movement.
    A soldier from the 28th Guards Mechanised Brigade, who gave his nom de guerre as 'Fin' said fighting had started in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
    "It was 3:30 when the shelling started, later mortars were put to use. It then became clear that we had a code one, that the offensive had started," said Fin.
    Ukraine said the separatists had launched an assault on government-held Maryinka, a town 15 km (9 miles) west of Donetsk which had a pre-conflict population of about 9,900.
    But the separatists denied this, saying 15 people had been killed when government troops fired artillery into rebel-held territory nearby.
    Maryinka residents are recovering after a 12-hour firefight involving artillery on both sides.
    The fighting went far beyond the regular low-level skirmishing that has occasionally flared since a shaky ceasefire was brokered in February by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France.
    The Ukrainian army said it was carrying out a clearing operation in the town south-west of Donetsk, which Poroshenko said had led to the detention of rebels in the town and one Russian citizen.
    Ukrainian soldiers in Maryinka put on display a series of items said to have been found and confiscated from those detained. Among them was an identity card that bore the Russian flag.
    In parts of the town, the remains of shells could be seen, several homes were damaged with destroyed roofs and several destroyed cars were left abandoned.
    A Ukrainian soldier who held up the tail end of a shell said the weapons being used were banned under the Minsk agreement.
    A local resident, Slavik, said the town appeared deserted because most families had fled from the fighting.
    "Everybody has left, mainly because homes were destroyed. From my house, further to this direction, there is probably nothing left. My roof is slightly damaged, but in general it is fine," Slavik said.
    The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine on Friday said the security situation in eastern Ukraine had deteriorated in recent days with both sides of the conflict putting civilians at risk.
    But Ukrainian soldiers in Maryinka said they had acted with patience after coming under rebel fire.
    "They provoked us every day, every day they fired at us from there. Bullets were flying at the block posts, snipers were operating. Every day they provoked us and we bore it until the last (moments) until they had came close by. When they came close by, and we saw people through a night-vision device there, that is when we opened fire," said a soldier who gave his nom de guerre as 'Maestro'.
    In Moscow, the Kremlin immediately took the side of the separatists, accusing the Ukrainian armed forces of carrying out provocative actions.
    Another soldier named 'Gypsy' said the town was now fully under the Ukrainian army's control.
    "The firefight went on for six hours, from three in the morning until 10 a.m." he said.
    "After that (we) left, recouped and then brought an APC and returned, and returned Maryinka (into our hands). By seven that night we were already standing here."
    Kiev and its NATO allies accuse Russia of sending weapons and troops to fight on behalf of separatists who control part of two provinces in eastern Ukraine.
    Moscow, which seized and annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula last year, denies its troops are participating.
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