Marinka Мар'їнка | |
|---|---|
 Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in 2014 | |
 Interactive map of Marinka | |
  Marinka  Marinka | |
| Coordinates:47°56′31″N37°30′13″E / 47.94194°N 37.50361°E /47.94194; 37.50361 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Donetsk Oblast |
| Raion | Pokrovsk Raion |
| Hromada | Marinka urban hromada |
| Founded | 1840s[1] |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 9,089 |
• Estimate (2023) | 0 |
Marinka (Ukrainian:Мар'їнка,pronounced[ˈmɑrjinkɐ];Russian:Марьинка,romanized: Maryinka) is adestroyed city inPokrovsk Raion,Donetsk Oblast,easternUkraine. Its estimated population in 2022 was9,089[2] with 2001 estimates pinning it at 10,530.[3]
During theRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the city was largely destroyed as a result offighting, with no civilians living in the city since November 2022.[4][5][6]On 25 December 2023, the city was reported as fully captured byRussian forces.[7]
The area which is now Marinka was part of theKalmius Palanka [uk;ru], an 18th-century administrative division of theZaporizhian Sich.[8] After the 1775liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich, the area that is today Marinka was included in the lands granted to Greek settlers who hademigrated from Crimea in 1778, but Marinka itself remained undeveloped by the 1830s.[8]
FormerUkrainian Cossacks andstate serfs from various counties of thePoltava andKharkov governorates[8] began moving in during the 1840s.Poles from theKiev andPodolia governorates were also exiled to what is now Marinka after thepartitions of Poland in the late 18th century.[8] While the state serfs worked communal land, the exiled Poles were consideredodnodvortsy (landowners).[8] By 1859, Marinka had 1,318 residents.[8] Administratively, Marinka belonged toAleksandrovsk county in theYekaterinoslav Governorate.[8] The village administration consisted of astarshyna (village head), a tax collector, a secretary, and an overseer.[8]
Marinka received urban-type settlement status in 1938.[8] DuringWorld War II, Marinka was underGerman occupation between 1941 and 1943. Having been locked up in the police station, theJews of the city (and the surrounding villages) were killed in a mass execution by anEinsatzgruppe. The site of the massacre is located in a pit near the cemetery.[9]
Starting in mid-April 2014Russian-backed paramilitaries captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast,[10][11] including Marinka.[12][failed verification] On 5 August 2014,Ukrainian forces regained control of Marinka.[13] Ukrainian forces involved in the recapture included theAzov Battalion, whose flag flew in the city in early August.[14] 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.[15]
On 3 June 2015, violence returned to the area as pro-Russian combatants launchedan offensive on the city involving 1,000 fighters, tanks and heavy artillery.[5][16] They stated they were engaging in defensive measures in response to a Ukrainian army assault.[17] By then, the city had already been devastated by months of heavy fighting.[5]
According to theBBC, the fighting was the heaviest of the war in Donbas since theMinsk II ceasefire was signed on 11 February 2015.[5][18] By the early evening of 3 June,Donetsk People's Republic's Defence MinisterVladimir Kononov and the Ukrainian military confirmed to theOSCE that Marinka was under Ukrainian control.[19] According to OSCE figures, 28 people, including 9 civilians, were killed in Marinka on 3 June 2015.[20]
The city was shelled on a regular basis, with Ukrainian troops returning fire.[21] Pro-Russian fighters accused Ukrainian troops of using their positions in Marinka to shell militant-controlledDonetsk, a claim denied by the Ukrainian military.[5]
Three people died close to a checkpoint on 10 February 2016 when a minibus while bypassing a queue drove roadside and hit aland mine.[22] The driver had ignored land mine warning signs.[22] According to Ukrainian MPIryna Herashchenko, 5,000 people lived in Marinka in September 2016.[4]
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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 as of May 2022[update], according toDer Spiegel.[23] One reporter likened Marinka in January 2023 to an "urban hellscape."[6] During the battle, buildings were purposefully destroyed in order to prevent them from being used as cover.[24] By March 2023, all civilians had been evacuated from Marinka, leaving the city completely uninhabited.[25]
On 25 December 2023, Russian forces announced to have taken control of the city, which was initially denied by Ukraine.[26][27] 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.[28] He described that Marinka "no longer exists" after being destroyed "street by street" by the Russian forces.[29] The BBC reported that the city was captured by Russian forces.[30]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1859 | 1,318[8] | — |
| 2001 | 10,530[3] | +1.47% |
| 2016 | 5,000[4] | −4.84% |
| 2022 | 9,089[2] | +10.47% |
| 2023 | 0[25] | −100.00% |
According to the2001 Ukrainian census, Marinka had a population of 10,530 people. The ethnic composition was:[3]
| Ethnic groups | percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainians | 81.23% | |||
| Russians | 15.80% | |||
| Greeks | 0.59% | |||
| Armenians | 0.58% | |||
| Belarusians | 0.51% | |||
| Azerbaijanis | 0.14% | |||
| Georgians | 0.10% | |||
| Tatars | 0.10% | |||
The native language composition was:[31]
| Languages | percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | 70.1% | |||
| Russian | 28.9% | |||
| Armenian | 0.4% | |||
| Greek | 0.1% | |||
| Belarusian | 0.1% | |||
| others | 0.4% | |||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
