Marinka, Ukraine

Marinka (Ukrainian: Мар'їнка) is a small city and the administrative center of Marinka Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province), Ukraine.[2] Population: 9,376 (2020 est.)[3] ; 10,722 (2001). The city has been damaged by and is on the frontline of the War in Donbass.[4][5]

Marinka

Мар'їнка
City
Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in Marinka
Marinka
Marinka
Coordinates: 47°56′31″N 37°30′13″E
Country Ukraine
Oblast Donetsk Oblast
RaionMarinka
Founded1840s[1]
Population
 (2020)
 • Total9,376

Early history

Sometime after the 1775 liquidation of Zaporizhian Sich, lands of Kalmius Palatine were initially passed to the Greek re-settlers.[6] However according to the general plan of the Aleksandrovsk county of 1830s, the area of Maryinka and surrounding villages was not colonized.[6] After the final demarcation of the government land, in 1840s on non-colonized by Greeks territory moved former Ukrainian Cossacks and state peasants (see state serf) from various counties of Poltava Governorate and Kharkov Governorate (Little Russia).[6] After the partition of Poland, at the end of 18th century here were also exiled Polish people from the Kyiv and Podolia governorates who also were under a special supervision by the local administration.[6] Unlike the state peasants who used a community land, the exiled Poles were considered as landowners ("odnodvortsy").[6]

By 1859 there were 1,318 people.[6] As a state village, Marinka belonged to the fourth stan of Aleksandrovsk county, Yekaterinoslav Governorate.[6] The village administration consisted of a village senior (head of village), a tax collector, a secretary, and a supervisor.[6] 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[7]

War in Donbass
August 2014: Ukrainian flag over the radio tower in Marinka
Main article: War in Donbass

Starting in mid-April 2014 pro-Russian militants captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast;[8][9] including Marinka.[10] On August 5, 2014, Ukrainian forces regained control of Marinka.[11] Ukrainian forces involved in the recapture included the Azov Battalion, whose flag flew in the city in early August.[12] 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).[13]

The city is shelled on a regular basis, with Ukrainian troops returning fire.[14] Pro-Russian fighters accused Ukrainian troops of using their positions in Marinka to shell militant-controlled Donetsk - 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 a land mine.[15] (The driver had ignored land mine warning signs.[15])

(According to Ukrainian MP Iryna Herashchenko) in September 2016 5.000 people lived in Marinka.[4]

Battle of Marinka
Main article: 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.[5][16] They stated they only engaged in defence measures after an assault by the Ukrainian army.[17] By then the town had already been devastated by months of heavy fighting.[5]

According to the BBC, the 3 June 2015 fighting was the heaviest of the War in Donbass since the so-called Minsk II ceasefire was signed on 11 February 2015.[5][18] 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.[19] According to OSCE figures, 28 people, including 9 civilians, were killed in Marinka on 3 June 2015.[20]

  • Central part of Marjinka
  • World War II memorial
  • Administrative building
  • Afghan War memorial in city park

References
  1. Marinka in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
  2. Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Google Books
  3. "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  4. Only three EU parliamentarians out of 20 mustered courage to visit eastern Ukraine, Ukraine Today (20 September 2016)
  5. Ukraine crisis: Violence flares up near Donetsk, BBC News (3 June 2015)
  6. Maryinka in The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR
  7. "Execution of Jews in Maryinka", Yahad – In Unum.
  8. Ragozin, Leonid, "Vladimir Putin Is Accidentally Bringing Eastern and Western Ukraine Together", newrepublic.com, April 16, 2014.
  9. "Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service", en.itar-tass.com, June 6, 2014.
  10. "Airstrike kills nine as apartment block demolished in Ukraine", irishtimes.com, July 15, 2014.
  11. "Ukraine fighting reaches rebel-held Donetsk", AP, August 5, 2014.
  12. Kramer, Andrew E., "Ukraine Strategy Bets On Restraint by Russia", New York Times, August 9, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  13. We Can Win After All, The Ukrainian Week (6 August 2015)
  14. Civilians Stuck in the Middle of Donbass Horror, Moscow Times (29 July 2015)
  15. 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)
  16. Kremlin-separatist forces try to take Maryinka as fighting breaks out along front line, Kyiv Post (3 June 2015)
  17. Ukraine at risk of return to full war after major battle in Donetsk, The Guardian (3 June 2015)
  18. "Ukraine ceasefire deal agreed at Belarus talks". The Guardian. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  19. Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 3 June 2015: Fighting around Marinka, OSCE (4 June 2015)
  20. 28 killed in recent Maryinka battle – UN, Ukraine Today (5 June 2015)
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