Marinka, Ukraine

Marinka or Maryinka (, ; russian: Марьинка) is a city located in Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province), Ukraine. Population: ; 10,722 (2001). The city is on the frontline of the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War and has suffered great damage as of 15.1.2023, with nearly every building of the main area bombed to the ground.

Early history

Sometime after the 1775 liquidation of Zaporizhian Sich, lands of Kalmius Palatine were initially passed to the Greek re-settlers.Maryinka
in The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR However, according to the general plan of the Aleksandrovsk county of the 1830s, the area of Maryinka and surrounding villages was not colonized. After the final demarcation of the government land, in the 1840s, on territory not colonized by Greeks, former Ukrainian Cossacks and state peasants (see state serf) from various counties of Poltava Governorate and Kharkov Governorate (Little Russia). moved there. After the partition of Poland, at the end of 18th century here were also exiled Polish people from the Kiev and Podolia governorates who also were under a special supervision by the local administration. Unlike the state peasants who used a community land, the exiled Poles were considered as landowners ("odnodvortsy").

By 1859 there were 1,318 people. As a state village, Marinka belonged to the fourth stan of Aleksandrovsk county, Yekaterinoslav Governorate. The village administration consisted of a village senior (head of village), a tax collector, a secretary, and a supervisor.

The city was under 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. The site of the massacre is located in a pit near the cemetery.

Russo-Ukrainian War

Starting in mid-April 2014 Russian-backed paramilitaries captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast, including Marinka. On August 5, 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. In this operation one volunteer fighter was killed (a member of Azov, a Russian-citizen) and 14 wounded (9 in an explosion of a Ukrainian tank due to an anti-tank mine).

The city is 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.Three killed as passenger bus hits mine in east Ukraine
, Yahoo! News (10 February 2015)
WAR Death toll from Maryinka land mine blast grows to 4 (Photo)
, UNIAN (10 February 2016))

According to Ukrainian MP Iryna Herashchenko, in September 2016 5,000 people lived in Marinka.Only three EU parliamentarians out of 20 mustered courage to visit eastern Ukraine
, Ukraine Today (20 September 2016)

Battle of Marinka

On 3 June 2015, fresh violence returned to the area as pro-Russian combatants launched an offensive on the city involving 1,000 fighters, tanks and heavy artillery.Ukraine crisis: Violence flares up near Donetsk
, BBC News (3 June 2015) They stated they only engaged in defence measures after an assault by the Ukrainian army. By then the town had already been devastated by months of heavy fighting.

According to the BBC, the 3 June 2015 fighting was the heaviest of the war in Donbas since the so-called Minsk II ceasefire was signed on 11 February 2015. In the early evening of 3 June 2015, 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 2015.28 killed in recent Maryinka battle – UN
, Ukraine Today (5 June 2015)

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 17 March 2022, refreshed battles for Marinka began following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the process, much of the city has been destroyed, and all residents have reportedly left. One reporter likened Maryinka in January 2023 to an "urban hellscape".

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

References

External links

Marinka
in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
* Christopher Miller
Guns Of August: Fears Of Full-Scale War Return As Casualties Mount In Ukraine
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 9 August 2016

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Cities in Donetsk Oblast
Yekaterinoslav Governorate
Cities of district significance in Ukraine
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
Holocaust locations in Ukraine
Pokrovsk Raion
Destroyed cities