ISW examines tactical significance of Marinka capture for Russia and future offensive prospects

This assessment is detailed in the ISW report.

"Russia's likely capture of Marinka in Donetsk Oblast represents a limited Russian tactical gain and does not portend any operationally significant advance unless Russian forces have dramatically improved their ability to conduct rapid mechanized forward movement, which they show no signs of having done," the report states.

The ISW notes that Russian forces probably control most, if not all, of Marinka, even though there is no visual confirmation of a complete takeover.

While Russian propagandists celebrate Marinka's capture as a tactical victory, claiming it will enable offensive operations toward areas up to 15 km west of Marinka in the coming weeks and months, ISW analysts dispute this perspective.

"Russian forces have attempted to capture Marinka since 2014 and have been conducting daily frontal assaults on the settlement since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, intensifying those assaults starting in early October 2023," the analysts highlight.

• On Monday, December 25, the Armed Forces of Ukraine refuted reports that the Russian army had captured Marinka in the Donetsk region. 
• Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that the Ukrainian military is still present in the northern part of Marinka.
• Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, added that a small portion of Marinka is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, although the city has suffered significant damage from the Russian Federation.