The Defence Forces retreated to the outskirts of Maryinka. Some forces dug in on the outskirts of Maryinka, while the other dug in a little further. At today's briefing Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy confirmed that the Russian army had completely destroyed the town.
"We are defending every piece of our land. Every piece of it, but when enemy shells start digging up this place together with stones, with the ground, with our fighters, the lives of our fighters are more important to us," he said.
Zaluzhnyy added that the fight for Maryinka had lasted almost two years, with the Russians destroying the town "street by street, house by house".
"As of today, our troops are still in the northern part. Our troops have prepared a defensive line outside this settlement. But I can say that this settlement no longer exists," Zaluzhnyy added.
The Russian army destroyed the town in the same way as Bakhmut in Donetsk Region.
"The situation is exactly the same as it was in Bakhmut: street by street, block by block is being destroyed... This is a war, so the fact that we have now retreated to the outskirts of Maryinka and in some places have already set up positions behind Maryinka is nothing that can cause any public outcry. Unfortunately, war is like that," the general said.