Marinka, Ukraine

History

The area which is now Marinka was part of the , an 18th-century administrative division of the Zaporizhian Sich. After the 1775 liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich, the area that is today Marinka was included in the lands granted to Greek settlers who had emigrated from Crimea in 1778, but Marinka itself remained undeveloped by the 1830s.

Former Ukrainian Cossacks and state serfs from various counties of the Poltava and Kharkov governorates began moving in during the 1840s. Poles from the Kiev and Podolia governorates were also exiled to what is now Marinka after the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century. While the state serfs worked communal land, the exiled Poles were considered odnodvortsy (landowners). By 1859, Marinka had 1,318 residents. Administratively, Marinka belonged to Aleksandrovsk county in the Yekaterinoslav Governorate. The village administration consisted of a starshyna (village head), a tax collector, a secretary, and an overseer.

Marinka received urban-type settlement status in 1938.

Russo-Ukrainian War

War in Donbas

Starting in mid-April 2014 Russian-backed paramilitaries captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast, including Marinka. On 5 August 2014, Ukrainian forces regained control of Marinka. Ukrainian forces involved in the recapture included the Azov Battalion, whose flag flew in the city in early August. A member of the group with Russian citizenship was killed in action during the battle for the city. Fourteen other Azov members were wounded, nine of whom by the explosion of their tank due to an anti-tank mine.

On 3 June 2015, violence returned to the area as pro-Russian combatants launched an offensive on the city involving 1,000 fighters, tanks and heavy artillery. They stated they were engaging in defensive measures in response to a Ukrainian army assault. By then, the city had already been devastated by months of heavy fighting.

According to the BBC, the fighting was the heaviest of the war in Donbas since the Minsk II ceasefire was signed on 11 February 2015. By the early evening of 3 June, Donetsk People's Republic's Defence Minister Vladimir Kononov and the Ukrainian military confirmed to the OSCE that Marinka was under Ukrainian control. According to OSCE figures, 28 people, including 9 civilians, were killed in Marinka on 3 June 2015.

The city was shelled on a regular basis, with Ukrainian troops returning fire. Pro-Russian fighters accused Ukrainian troops of using their positions in Marinka to shell militant-controlled Donetsk, a claim denied by the Ukrainian military.

Three people died close to a checkpoint on 10 February 2016 when a minibus while bypassing a queue drove roadside and hit a land mine. The driver had ignored land mine warning signs. According to Ukrainian MP Iryna Herashchenko, 5,000 people lived in Marinka in September 2016.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Main article: Battle of Marinka (2022–2023)

Battles for Marinka resumed in 2022 following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the process, much of the city was destroyed, with only a few residents remaining , according to Der Spiegel. One reporter likened Marinka in January 2023 to an "urban hellscape." During the battle, buildings were purposefully destroyed in order to prevent them from being used as cover. By March 2023, all civilians had been evacuated from Marinka, leaving the city completely uninhabited.

On 25 December 2023, Russian forces announced to have taken control of the city, which was initially denied by Ukraine. The following day on 26 December 2023, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, said that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Marinka and entrenched themselves on its outskirts and further away. He described that Marinka "no longer exists" after being destroyed "street by street" by the Russian forces. The BBC reported that the city was captured by Russian forces.

Demographics

| 1859 | 1318 | 2001 | 10530 | 2016 | 5,000 | 2022 | 9089 | 2023 | 0 According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, Marinka had a population of 10,530 people. The ethnic composition was:

The native language composition was:

Gallery

File:Maryinka001.jpg|Central part of Marinka. File:Maryinka004.jpg|World War II memorial. File:Maryinka012.jpg|Administrative building. File:Maryinka009.jpg|Afghan War memorial in city park.

Notable people

• Oleksandr Klymenko (born 1965), Ukrainian politician and entrepreneur.

References

References

1. link. (2016-03-09 in the [[Encyclopedia of Ukraine]])
2. (26 December 2023). "Ukraine war: Russia captures key town near Donetsk".
3. {{usurped
4. During [[World War II]], Marinka was under [[Reichskommissariat Ukraine. German occupation]] between 1941 and 1943. Having been locked up in the police station, the [[Jews]] of the city (and the surrounding villages) were killed in a mass execution by an ''[[Einsatzgruppen. Einsatzgruppe]]''. The site of the massacre is located in a pit near the cemetery.[http://www.yahadmap.org/#village/maryinka-donetsk-ukraine.172 "Execution of Jews in Maryinka"] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-03-16 , ''Yahad – In Unum''.)
5. Ragozin, Leonid, [https://newrepublic.com/article/117387/putin-accidentally-helping-unite-eastern-and-western-ukraine "Vladimir Putin Is Accidentally Bringing Eastern and Western Ukraine Together"] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-05-17 , ''newrepublic.com'', 16 April 2014.)
6. [http://en.itar-tass.com/world/735082 "Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service"] {{Webarchive. link. (2014-10-21 , ''en.itar-tass.com'', 6 June 2014.)
7. [http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/airstrike-kills-nine-as-apartment-block-demolished-in-ukraine-1.1867008 "Airstrike kills nine as apartment block demolished in Ukraine"] {{Webarchive. link. (2014-08-08 , ''irishtimes.com'', 15 July 2014.)
8. [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ukrainian-troops-edge-closer-rebel-city "Ukraine fighting reaches rebel-held Donetsk"] {{Webarchive. link. (2014-08-05 , AP, 5 August 2014.)
9. Kramer, Andrew E., [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/world/europe/ukraine.html "Ukraine Strategy Bets On Restraint by Russia"] {{Webarchive. link. (2017-02-05 , New York ''Times'', 9 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-09.)
10. [http://ukrainianweek.com/Society/142933 We Can Win After All] {{Webarchive. link. (2022-03-24 , The Ukrainian Week (6 August 2015))
11. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32988499 Ukraine crisis: Violence flares up near Donetsk] {{Webarchive. link. (2022-02-23 , [[BBC News]] (3 June 2015))
12. [https://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/separatist-forces-try-to-take-maryinka-as-fighting-breaks-out-along-front-line-390147.html Kremlin-separatist forces try to take Maryinka as fighting breaks out along front line] {{Webarchive. link. (2015-06-03 , [[Kyiv Post]] (3 June 2015))
13. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/03/fears-for-ukraine-ceasefire-after-fresh-reports-of-civilian-deaths Ukraine at risk of return to full war after major battle in Donetsk] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-08-26 , [[The Guardian]] (3 June 2015))
14. (12 February 2015). "Ukraine ceasefire deal agreed at Belarus talks". [[The Guardian]].
15. [http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/162116 Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 3 June 2015: Fighting around Marinka] {{Webarchive. link. (2 March 2022 , [[OSCE]] (4 June 2015))
16. [http://uatoday.tv/politics/28-killed-in-recent-maryinka-battle-un-433773.html 28 killed in recent Maryinka battle – UN] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-08-28 , [[Ukraine Today]] (5 June 2015))
17. [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/mobile/opinion/article/civilians-stuck-in-the-middle-of-donbass-horror/526388.html Civilians Stuck in the Middle of Donbass Horror] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-04-19 , [[Moscow Times]] (29 July 2015))
18. [https://news.yahoo.com/four-killed-passenger-bus-hits-mine-east-ukraine-003355845.html Three killed as passenger bus hits mine in east Ukraine] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-12-02 , [[Yahoo! News]] (10 February 2015)
    [http://www.unian.info/war/1260779-death-toll-from-maryinka-land-mine-blast-grows-to-4-photo.html WAR Death toll from Maryinka land mine blast grows to 4 (Photo)] {{Webarchive). link. (2017-10-19 , [[UNIAN]] (10 February 2016))
19. [http://uatoday.tv/politics/only-three-eu-parliamentarians-out-of-20-mustered-courage-to-visit-eastern-ukraine-750553.html Only three EU parliamentarians out of 20 mustered courage to visit eastern Ukraine] {{Webarchive. link. (2016-09-21 , [[Ukraine Today]] (20 September 2016))
20. Sarovic, Alexander. (2022-05-10). "Staryna's Mission: The Elite Ukrainian Soldiers Defending the Donbas". Der Spiegel.
21. (17 January 2023). "Ukraine Situation Report: The Urban Hellscape That Is Maryinka". Recurrent Ventures.
22. (25 February 2023). "Drone footage of Maryinka city that was turned into ruins by Russians". Kanal 13.
23. Ankel, Sophia. "Before-and-after photos show how Russia's invasion reduced a Ukrainian city to a post-apocalyptic wasteland".
24. (25 December 2023). "Russia Claims Capture of Eastern Ukraine's Maryinka". The Moscow Times.
25. (25 December 2023). "Military: Battle for Marinka continues". The Kyiv Independent.
26. (26 December 2023). "Ukraine says its troops have withdrawn from Marinka, one day after Russia says it seized destroyed town".
27. (26 December 2023). "Ukrainian Army Says Retreated to Outskirts of Town Claimed by Moscow".
28. (26 December 2023). "Ukraine war: Russia captures key town near Donetsk".
29. "Національний склад міст".
30. "Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України".