Maryinka From The Air Reveals A Shattered Landscape After Russia Pulverizes Ukrainian City
- By RFE/RL
Haunting aerial photos reveal the extent of the devastation that Moscow's forces have brought to the small eastern Ukrainian city of Maryinka.
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Pulverized buildings and shell craters are all that remain of the small eastern Donetsk city of Maryinka on May 11.
As part of the Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front line, the city has endured punishing Russian assaults as the Kremlin's forces try to push deeper into the Donbas.
As part of the Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front line, the city has endured punishing Russian assaults as the Kremlin's forces try to push deeper into the Donbas.
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The city that once had a pre-war population of nearly 10,000 people is now a wasteland of destroyed buildings.
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Located nearly 86 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut -- the scene of the bloodiest fighting of the war -- both cities have endured relentless and devastating artillery duels that have left behind apocalyptic scenes of destruction.
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Maryinka first saw fighting as far back as 2014, when Russian-backed separatists captured the city. A few months later, Ukrainian forces regained control, though the city was shelled on a regular basis.
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In 2015, fresh battles involving over 1,000 fighters, tanks, and heavy artillery took place in Maryinka.
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On March 17, 2022, new battles for the city began following Russia's full-scale invasion.
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Buildings were purposefully targeted for destruction in order to prevent them from being used as cover.
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The ruins of Maryinka with towering slag heaps from local coal mines in the background
