DPR militants promise a second assault on Marinka. video. Zakharchenko hastily left Donetsk - media

In the morning, panic messages began to appear on Ukrainian information resources that the VSN forces had made a breakthrough on Marinka, to the point that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already abandoned their positions, and Marinka came under the control of the Armed Forces of Novorossiya.

Further reports from the DPR partially confirmed this information, and judging by the conflicting reports from the Ukrainian side, there was real panic in the Marinka area. The ATO headquarters has already announced that the VSN is conducting an offensive with 20 tanks and 1000 infantry units, volunteers report that they are hitting Marinka with all types of heavy weapons, incl. and MLRS GRAD. The right sector added panic by declaring that if Marinka was surrendered, their units in Piski and Avdievka would find themselves in a potential cauldron.
The DPR says that they didn’t actually storm anything, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are leaving Marinka for reasons unknown to them, and if this is so, then they shouldn’t leave the residents to their fate...
At the same time, information appears about complete control over the city and about a new offensive by DPR forces on Krasnogorovka and Kurakhovo.

I’ll try to collect and somehow systematize all these messages...

As you can see, in the event of the loss of Maryinka, and an attack in the direction of Krasnogorovka, Kurakhovo - Peski, Avdeevka (from which the shelling of Donetsk is mainly carried out) may end up in a semi-circle.

Ukrainian volunteer medic Armen Nikoghosyan reported that Ukrainian security forces suffered casualties among their personnel as a result of the battles near Marinka; 25 soldiers have already been injured.

Nikoghosyan also reports that the punishers assume that the militia wants to encircle Marinka. Tanks and armored personnel carriers were sent to reinforce the Ukrainian security forces.

The 28th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is located in Marinka.

Donetsk News reported that urban and intercity transport was temporarily suspended. At the Yuzhny bus station, passengers are asked to return their tickets. Checkpoints near Georgievka, Volnovakha and Kurakhovo are closed. The fighting began there.

In addition, traffic on routes No. 60a, 60b, 61 and 65 has been temporarily suspended in Donetsk.
As a result of the crossfire, the Equicenter equestrian complex located between Donetsk and Marinka caught fire.

As of 12:30, there are unconfirmed reports that Marinka is occupied by the militia and the DPR flag is raised over the post-soviet.
Information needs confirmation.

A video has appeared on the Internet showing a column of smoke that formed during a crossfire in the Marinka area.
According to informed sources, the Equicenter equestrian sports complex is on fire.
Ukrainian media, for their part, write that it is a militia base that is on fire. The militia, in turn, claims that they managed to set fire to a warehouse of Ukrainian troops.

The military base between Donetsk and Marinka is on fire

Battles for Marinka. Injury of a Fifteen fighter with the call sign Grandfather (06/03/2015)

Video taken by a resident of Marinka at 4:45 on June 3. The battles are fought with small arms and mortars.

Shooting battles in the Marinka area 06/03/15 6:00

Ukrainians are panicking and putting forward new versions of what is happening.
Thus, Ukrainian volunteer Roman Donik reported on his Facobook page that increased alert has been declared in the ATO zone along the entire front line.
“N1 readiness along the entire front. All that happened were diversionary strikes. The main direction is not clear,” he wrote.

Volunteer Vitaly Deinega reported on Facebook.
The volunteer managed to contact one of the military men, who is now in the city.

“Those positions in Marinka that I recently spoke about are no longer ours. The first breakthrough of militants in the Donetsk direction since the airport took place. There is a lot of information about the large amount of equipment that the militants threw at this direction. They are trying to jam the connection. The battles are not just taking place at our platoon strongholds. There are positions from which we retreated and the militants are already in the city,” Deinega wrote.
According to him, the 28th brigade from Odessa, which was stationed in Maryanka, asked for reinforcements in the morning, but no one heard them.
“They shouted that they weren’t asked for enough reinforcements... Alas...”

The 28th mechanized brigade denies the abandonment of the village by the Ukrainian army.
“I don’t confirm this. During the fighting, certain movements did occur, but our positions are held as before,” said Pavel Omelchenko, press officer of the 28th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on the 112 Ukraine TV channel.

And already completely panicky from the Right Sector

“After conducting reconnaissance and aerial reconnaissance yesterday and today, after the use of heavy weapons in the area of ​​​​Maryanka, Pesok, Krasnogorsk, I can say for sure that again the terrorists are preparing an offensive and another cauldron. They do not hesitate to use heavy weapons; not only mortars, but also self-propelled guns and rocket artillery are already flying,” Manko wrote.
He noted that according to intelligence data, the separatists have collected a very large amount of heavy weapons - "Buratino", self-propelled guns, "Grads", "Smerchs" - and a large number of armored vehicles and manpower in the area of ​​​​Marinka, Krasnogorovka, Pesok and Pervomaisky.
“If the militants break through the defenses in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bMarinka and Krasnogorovka, then they will only have to slam the cauldron for Pesok, Karlovka and Avdeevka,” Manko said.

As of 14:00, intensification of hostilities is observed not only in the Marinka area.
“On the afternoon of June 3, new shelling of Gorlovka began. After 13:30, artillery opened fire near Magdalinovka. Fighting broke out in the northwest and north. At 13:54, artillery positions in Dzerzhinsk joined the shelling of the city,” the message says.

15:30 Active hostilities are taking place in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk. This was reported on the website of city authorities loyal to the DPR.
“Due to active hostilities in the Petrovsky district, repair and restoration work will not be carried out today,” the message says.

Note that Maryinka is adjacent to the Petrovsky district

15:37 Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak announced that the militant offensive near Marinka and Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region has been stopped.
Journalist Roman Bochkala, who met with Poltorak, wrote about this on his Facebook page.
“I just had a reception with the Minister of Defense Stepan Poltorak. Fresh from the horse's mouth. Today, indeed, the separatists have become sharply active. But not along the entire front line, but in a specific direction - Marinka, Krasnogorovka. The enemy's assault began at 4:10. As of now, they have been stopped,” Bochkala wrote.

15:20 At the same time, People's Deputy of Ukraine and coordinator of the Kyiv-1 battalion, Yevgeny Deydey, who is in the Donetsk region, said that the militants managed to capture most of the city of Marinka.
“At the moment, 70% of Marinka is no longer ours. Marinka is now surrounded. There, the guys from the 28th brigade and the Kyiv-1 battalion are heroically holding their positions,” said Deydey, who is located near the neighboring town of Kurakhovo.

On the Ukrainian side, it cannot do without traditional revelations, the invasion of the regular Russian army, at the usual level...

The Peacemaker Center reported that a Russian army sergeant had been detained.
And 30 minutes later, they also reported that the Russian sergeant detained near Marinka had died.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces returned artillery to the front line
Today, the separatists launched a massive offensive near Maryinka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces returned the withdrawn artillery and used it in this area. This is stated on the General Staff Facebook page.
“Today, June 3, at about 4:00 am, Russian terrorists, cynically disregarding the Minsk agreements, launched a massive attack on Ukrainian positions. The greatest blow was inflicted in the area of ​​​​the settlements of Marinka and Krasnogorovka, near Donetsk. Thus, in the direction of Marinka, the enemy threw more than ten tanks and up to a thousand manpower into battle against the Ukrainian troops. The offensive is supported by 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled guns

The Ukrainian side did not particularly withdraw heavy weapons, and those that did withdraw were long ago returned to their positions and used for massive shelling of Donetsk, Gorlovka and other populated areas, however, this statement already officially denounces the truce and all agreements Minsk Two. Actually, this is what Kyiv sought, starting from April 12, by immediately resuming shelling of Donetsk on Easter, and conducting several assault operations, precisely from this area, on militia positions near Peski and Spartak. And in the future, systematically increasing pressure on the Armed Forces and civilian targets.

As you understand, this information should not be trusted, but at the same time, there are indeed reports from Donetsk hospitals about a large number of wounded; at the moment, they write about a dozen or even up to 100 admitted. Which indicates that the fighting is really tough...

LifeNews report Militia pushed security forces outside Marinka

16:20 Marinka is completely controlled by the Ukrainian military, said press officer of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Alexey Mazepa.

16:25 At least 15 people have been killed in the DPR since the start of large-scale shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces along the entire demarcation line. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of the Republic Vladimir Kononov.
“At the moment, about 15 people have been killed, this is the loss of the DPR since the first provocation at 3.45 hours,” he said.

Director of the Republican Trauma Center Alexander Oprishchenko.
As a result of shelling by Ukrainian security forces today, 60 civilians of the city of Donetsk were injured. “In our hospital, about 60 people were admitted with injuries, and that’s just for us,” he said.
Oprishchenko noted that five people are now in extremely serious condition.
“There are wounded with varying degrees of severity, both without arms and legs. Many are now in the operating room,” said the director of the center.
According to the head of the medical institution, the hospital has all the necessary medicines to provide assistance.
“The blood bank hasn’t turned us down yet either,” he added.

I currently do not see any reports of massive shelling of residential areas of Donetsk, at least with such a number of casualties. I believe we are talking here about wounded militiamen being taken out from near Maryinka.

Amendment. Donetsk is indeed under heavy shelling. Sokol Market, Tekstilshchik, almost burned down

Summary of hits for 06/03/15 at 13:50

Donetsk, Petrovsky district
- st. Moskvina, no. - hit the house, damaged
- st. Kryukova, no. - getting into households. construction
- st. Sokolovsky, 2 - hit the 4th floor, the shell did not explode
- st. Krasnogorovskaya, 20 - hit near the house, glazing was damaged Donetsk, Kirovsky district
- hit in a field near the Biryuzov microdistrict (beyond the rest of route 65)
- Biryuzova microdistrict - hits on a holiday village
- st. Biryuzova, 56 - glazing at the entrance of Donetsk, Kyiv district was damaged
- st. Politboytsov, 3 - direct hit to the house - st. Politboytsov, 4 - damaged by shrapnel

Staromikhailovka
- st. Pervomaiskaya, № № ? - 3 houses damaged
- st. Chapaeva, no. - house damaged

Krasnogorovka
- hospitalization, fire in neurology (roof)
- direct hit in a warehouse near the Central Security Service - st. Nakhimova, no. - hit
- st. Gorky - getting into school. No. 3, fire
- st. Eastern, 2, 3 - hit
- st. Vostochnaya, 5 - glazing damaged
- st. Ostrovsky, no. - hit
- st. March 8, no. - hit the garage, glazing in many houses was damaged
- st. Mayakovsky, 5 - hit the house, blew off the roof
- st. Mayakovsky, 18 - hit
- st. Solnechnaya, 5 - direct hit to the apartment on the 5th floor
- entering the territory of a refractory plant

Marinka
- st. Karla Marksa, 52 - hit the extension of the house
- st. Karl Marx, 53 - hit in the garden
- st. Matrosova, 16 - hit in the kitchen, no roof, household items destroyed. buildings (IN)
- hit the Equicenter, fire
- getting into Chertkov's stables
- st. Artema, 172 - hitting the house

Debaltsevo
- st. Chkalov, a fire in a private residential building, as a result of which the roof, wall and 2 window blocks were partially damaged.

Information about the victims is being clarified.

At the moment, the Donetsk mayor's office speaks of 4 dead civilians, i.e. - It is quite possible that 60 wounded are also civilians.

16:51 The commander of the Pyatnashka brigade spoke about the situation at the front.

17:00 From the ATO headquarters.
“The situation began to escalate that night, the enemy began to fire at our positions using multiple launch rocket systems. Peski and Vodyanoye also came under fire. As a result of these attacks, Marinka is still on fire. About 20 minutes ago, in the area of ​​​​Marinka and Krasnogorovka, an illegal armed formation was storming the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” Poronyuk said.
“Considering that, according to the Minsk agreements, the Ukrainian side withdrew heavy weapons to a certain distance, we regard this as a provocation and cynical disregard for all agreements. This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian side at the Center for Control and Coordination, Andrey Taran. The Ukrainian side, as part of the work of the Center, appealed to the Russian side with a demand that it influence the illegal armed formations on the issue of a ceasefire.”
He also informed that the Ukrainian side informed all participants of the Center “about its readiness to use all means to stop this provocation.”
“At the joint Center, representatives of the OSCE SMM were informed about the escalation of the conflict by terrorists in the area of ​​​​Marinka and Krasnogorovka,” he noted.

17:10 Deputy Corps Commander of the DPR Ministry of Defense Eduard Basurin said on June 3 that the DPR stands for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Donbass, but if the situation worsens, it may take retaliatory measures.
“We are for a peaceful solution, but we reserve the right, in case of tightening, to take adequate measures. Today, two points were violated, the line of contact moved in our direction, and residential areas were shelled,” Basurin said.

Directly on Marinka, there are no comments from the DPR yet. On the Ukrainian side they are reporting victory, but even 3 days after the defeat they will report victory, we are waiting...

17:30 The military denies it, but... They are calling from Marinka. Militia tanks are already on Oktyabrskaya Street. The zero checkpoint between Donetsk and Marinka has been abandoned.

17.40 The above-mentioned checkpoint between Donetsk and Marinka seems to have been surrendered, the enemy could not withstand the artillery fire of the VSN and retreated.

The hail works! Marinka 03.06.15

But it’s unclear from whose side

18:00. As of 18:00, Marinka has not been taken, the fighting continues.

18:10. According to unconfirmed reports, one of the columns of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was approaching to help Marinka, was successfully covered by the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Declared minus 20 units of equipment

Message from military officers
“During the capture of Marinka, the Ryazan DSRG was ambushed. It is currently known: up to 6-200x, 12-300x, two more were captured. (Information to be confirmed).

18:30 The ATO press center reports the continuation of the shooting battle in Marinka. It is noted that the intensity of the battle has dropped compared to the morning.

The situation in Marinka at 19-00 from Colonel Cassad

1. Fighting continues near Markinka. Marinka itself was not completely taken by the VSN; during the morning and afternoon battles, they managed to seriously push back the junta in the village itself, but not completely knock it out of there; the fighting will obviously continue in the evening and at night, so the likelihood of complete occupation of Marinka is very high.
2. The junta abandoned not only part of the positions in Marinka, but also a number of adjacent positions in the field, unable to withstand concentrated artillery fire.
3. From Kurakhovo, reserves approach the junta; after the intensity of fighting in the Krasnogorovka area decreases, the enemy uses artillery from near Krasnogorovka to support its forces at Marinka. In addition to supporting the advancing forces, our artillery is conducting active counter-battery work against enemy artillery positions.
4. There are serious losses on both sides, our wounded are taken to Donetsk, the junta’s wounded are taken to Kurakhovo and beyond. On both sides, a call is being spread on social networks to collect donated blood for the wounded, which indicates very serious losses. We officially stated 14 killed military + 4 killed civilians + 60 wounded civilians in Donetsk. The junta has claimed only one person killed. In fact, the losses are much greater and on both sides there are dozens of people. A more accurate picture of those killed and wounded in the battle formations of the advancing units will be available tomorrow. I believe that in the chaotic picture of the battle, even the command now only approximately knows how many people were lost and where.

In general, very heavy fighting is taking place, perhaps the toughest since the junta’s April attempt to capture Spartak. The successes achieved have already been paid for with serious blood, so there should be no mood of mischief, the enemy stubbornly resists, so the struggle will continue to be stubborn and bloody. So far, at 7 o'clock in the evening, ours are pressing, the enemy is fighting back.

To the soldiers of the DPR army, courage and good luck.

Fight in the suburb of Marinka:

Appeal to the residents of Donetsk
Donetsk residents! All civilians and military personnel who are in the city now!
Please! Whoever has the opportunity, come to the blood transfusion station!

19:20 JCCC (General Coordination Center) - Fire contact in Marinka as of 19:20 on Wednesday, June 3, has completely ceased. This was reported by a press officer of the Ukrainian side.
“During the negotiations within the JCCC, the ceasefire was set for 17:00. After 17:00, small arms fire was still ongoing there, but gradually it subsided. As of 19:20, there are no hostilities and fire contact has ceased. Illegal armed groups retreated from Marinka to their previous positions. Status quo restored"

About recognized losses on the Ukrainian side

Basurin is from the category of famous Peremozhets, because he writes, you can divide by ten or multiply by the same amount. But apparently, in Marinka the junta was able to hold out, to what extent “The status quo has been restored”, we will learn by morning, from messages from the militia. The real losses of the Ukrainian side, most likely never, will be similar to what happened in Ilovaisk/Debaltsevo/Airport...

PS.
Marinka, Krasnogorovka, Kurakhovo, Peski, Avdeevka - this is the direction from which Donetsk has been under constant shelling since the fall. They tried to recapture Avdeevka and Peski back in the winter precisely for this reason (to stop the genocide of the city), but they failed to do this head-on. Considering that in recent days the intensity of shelling of Donetsk has resumed, it is not surprising that the VSN decided to “close” this issue.
As can be seen from the incoming messages, active hostilities have been suspended and I am stopping the broadcast for now. There will be new information (photos, videos, information about losses...) I will publish on a separate page, under the heading “Results of the battles for Marinka” - this has already turned into a sheet.

The more civilians who live in villages on the contact line are subjected to, the more loyalty to Kyiv grows. “If the house is destroyed, I’ll ask the guys,” one of them nods to the military.

In the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, the village from which residents are leaving is closed to entry. Ukrainian troops are expecting a new assault any day now - a similar operation was carried out on June 3. Then they failed to capture the village, however, according to the Ukrainian military, attempts will be repeated due to the strategic location of this settlement, writes Anton Naumlyuk on Radio Liberty.

Marinka is a suburb of Donetsk. The separatist positions are located several hundred meters from the positions of the Ukrainian military and border guards. The shelling of the settlement is carried out from the waste heap of the neighboring Trudovskaya mine, where local residents worked before the war. The mine is now flooded. Before the signing of the Minsk agreements, heavy equipment and artillery were stationed there, but what is happening now is unknown: the separatists blocked access there.

Trudovskaya mine, where separatist positions are located

Marinka is shelled every day, sometimes several times a day. The part of the suburb closest to Donetsk is almost completely destroyed, but civilians live in other areas. Civilians who had not yet been able to leave due to the fighting began to leave the village en masse after June 22, when the prospect of a full-scale separatist offensive became obvious.

Civilians remaining in Marinka

The checkpoint in Georgievka in front of Marinka can be crossed only with a load of humanitarian aid and accompanied by military personnel stationed in the village. And even this is not usual - only people with local registration are allowed through here. Buses still run between Ukrainian villages, but after the new rules for traveling along the contact line came into effect, they are not allowed to reach Donetsk. There are still several thousand people in Marinka who are immediately dismantling 300 kilograms of humanitarian cargo - mainly food and hygiene kits. Volunteers distribute questionnaires to one of the international organizations that are trying to monitor the humanitarian situation in the ATO zone (operations of government forces).

A young guy with the call sign "Khokhol" shows us the destruction after the shelling. The area of ​​the village, which is adjacent to Donetsk, has been almost completely destroyed, instead of houses there are piles of bricks and the remains of walls. In the courtyard of one of the former houses, where there was a fortified point of the Ukrainian military, there is a dental chair. “It was probably a private office,” says “Khokhol.” We walk among the huge rose bushes, which here, among the collapsed walls with huge gaping holes from the “work” of the tanks, seem like a completely wild sight. “Khokhol” asks not to “shine” on the road, at the end of which, if you look closely, you can see the positions of the separatists.

crest fighter with the call sign "Khokhol"

On the road, “Khokhol” shows us the mine tails sunk into the asphalt. “And here a newly developed mine exploded,” the soldier shows. “It explodes above the ground and goes down under pressure.” There are holes scattered around on the road at a distance of several meters, as if the asphalt was soft and many large and small stones were thrown into it.

“Shooting at 12 o’clock,” they say over the radio. We freeze, and the cannonade immediately begins. Usually short-term battles in Marinka begin at night and end in the morning, and shelling starts at 11 o’clock in the afternoon. This time the shelling took place on the outskirts. We went into a former garage in the courtyard of a bombed house. While explosions are heard above us, “Khokhol” talks about the separatists’ attempt to capture Marinka on June 3.

“We were also encircled, but we fought back. We fought for 13 hours, hungry, without sleep. Their artillery covered the entire zone, every building. We had three wounded: one got hit in the chest by a shrapnel, the second got hit in the head near the ear, and the third one - in the neck. We replaced them. We brought out the sappers and snipers. We wanted to regroup and go on the attack, but a KamAZ truck came under fire and took them away. And we sat and felt the ground shaking. First, we repulsed their equipment - the armored personnel carriers, and then the infantry. It was scary, the pillbox really split, it was as if mines had landed on it, and after that they had a headache,” says the soldier.

During the assault on June 3, the international brigade of separatists "Pyatnashka" unexpectedly for the Ukrainian military reached the center of the village. They fired at the city from anti-aircraft guns and 122-mm artillery, and the infantry was covered by several T-72 tanks. The separatists seized the police department building in the center, from where they were then dug out for a long time.

Police department building liberated after separatist attack

“When they bombed on June 3, we were given the order to leave, but our guys at the first, second and third posts stood until the end and held,” says an elderly soldier with the call sign “Raven.” He is from the Kherson region, a volunteer in the army, has been in Marinka for three months and does not remember a single day without shelling. He asks to record how he says hi to his wife and four children.

Ukrainian fighter with the call sign "Raven"

Apparently, they are really trying to encircle Marinka. According to the military in the front positions, reinforcements have arrived for the separatists - two hundred people who are now training on the spot and during night battles. It is obvious to everyone in the village that the separatists are gathering forces before the assault. Marinka stretches out like a tongue towards Donetsk, and around there are positions of militants, for whom it is fundamentally important to capture the Kurakhovskaya thermal power plant. It is difficult to defend the village and the flat area beyond it, all the way to Kurakhovo. After the battle on June 3, the soldiers did not really trust the command; the order to “retreat” was perceived by many as an attempt to surrender the village. In informal conversations they talk about smuggling that goes into the “DPR” under the cover of officers. The OSCE mission is trusted even less here.

“They know all the positions, the locals surrender. I think everyone knows about every hut, what kind of weapons. Well, ours know all their positions. Unofficially, sometimes there are agreements so that they don’t shoot for a couple of days. There is no withdrawal of heavy equipment. Their tanks They were still standing at the elevator a few days ago, about two kilometers from us. The OSCE came once at eight in the morning, and since eight in the morning there was not a single shot. “we didn’t “see”,” says the young guy Misha, who takes us deep into the village from the forward points.

Marinka today

In fact, the OSCE, at least during the battle on June 3, reacted quite quickly. The movement of separatist equipment was recorded the day before, but when the battle began, responsible representatives of the “DPR” were “unavailable” to the OSCE mission, whose representatives were trying to convince the militants not to storm a village with several thousand civilians.

At the point where we arrive from the forward positions, the soldiers are preparing lunch. There is washing in a small machine without spinning, compote, porridge and some kind of soup on the fire, into which the cook throws chicken legs. The cook is a short, thin fighter with squinted eyes, call sign “Cunning”. He spent several years in prison, and immediately after his release he went to the front. If in some Kramatorsk fatigue from the war has led to the fact that people simply try not to notice it, then on the front line this is impossible to do. War is everywhere. Fatigue results in disappointment, dissatisfaction with the command, with the fact that it is impossible to go on the offensive in response to the attack by the militants. Ordinary fighters simply do not see the point in this; they admit that no peace is being observed here.

While we are having lunch, local resident Vyacheslav Nichporuk comes up - he has no intention of leaving the village.

Vyacheslav Nichporuk

“This is my home, why should I leave it if they came to me, and not I to them,” he says about the separatists. “They were not invited here. They say: “We are protecting you.” From whom? I worked at the Trudovskaya mine, where the DEN fighters had been standing there for two months, hiding their equipment. Now they said: “Until we kick the Ukrainians out of here, we won’t let them work at the mine. The fighters stole all their last equipment from there.” able to revive the mine, which was flooded twice. It was not Ukraine that set up the first roadblocks. We lived here quietly, no one bothered us, but the DEN came and decided to protect us from someone. For the eight months that Ukraine has been here, I have. "They checked your documents maybe three times. But the DEN always look at you as an enemy. If they say that they are liberating someone, then why are they afraid? The local population is always afraid of the occupier."

“Why are the Ukrainian military not afraid of us, but their comrades from the Democratic Party are afraid? Since you say that this is your land, who should they be afraid of?” – says Nichporuk. According to him, many of those who left for Russia after the outbreak of hostilities returned disappointed: “They came and began to apply for jobs. Naturally, they began to be looked at as strangers - with fear and irritation. So they returned “In Kurakhovo, by the way, they also look askance at such people.”

It seems that the more civilians who live in villages on the contact line are shelled, the more loyalty to Kyiv grows. This has already happened in Mariupol, where it is now difficult to find pro-Russian sentiments among the residents of the area shelled by Grad missiles in January. In other areas, back in March, many residents waited with hope for the arrival of DPR militants. “If the house is destroyed, I’ll ask the guys,” Nichporuk nods to the military. Until this time, he is ready to leave Marinka only if Ukrainian troops are knocked out of it.

The very next day after our trip, Marinka was completely closed to traffic. Local residents who still remained in the village began to leave en masse. Apparently, the separatists are preparing for an assault. Ukrainian military and border guards in Marinka believe that constant night battles are reconnaissance. On June 19 there was an attempt to break through, but it was quickly repulsed. Since the assault earlier this month, the military has been constantly waiting for the fighting to continue.

Ukraine's representative to the EU, Konstantin Eliseev, on June 4 called on EU leaders to properly assess the “massive militant attack” and strengthen sanctions against Russia. The US State Department made the same proposal: “Russia bears direct responsibility for preventing these types of attacks,” department spokeswoman Marie Harf said on Thursday. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law allowing the deployment of UN and EU peacekeepers to Ukraine. Kiev believes that this will help ensure “the speedy normalization of the situation, the restoration of law and order and life, constitutional rights and freedoms” for the residents of Donbass.

All these statements were made possible thanks to the battles for Marinka, which broke out on Wednesday. As a result, the settlement changed hands several times, but remained under the control of the security forces. According to the ATO headquarters, 5 security forces were killed and 38 were wounded in the battle. Representative of the DPR Ministry of Defense Eduard Basurin spoke about his losses - during the battle 16 militiamen were killed and 86 were wounded.

The question is, what caused the sharp escalation of the situation? On Thursday night, the OSCE observation mission published a report on the battles for Marinka. According to observers, the militia tried to take control of the village after about 100 shots were fired from rocket launchers into Donetsk from that side. At the same time, the DPR leaders did not contact the OSCE, and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense sent a notice to the mission that it was transferring heavy weapons to Marinka to repel the attack.

The parties stand in their traditional positions. Kyiv claims that it respected the truce, and the militias attacked because they always do this and are generally incapable of peace. The DPR says that it is faithful to the Minsk agreements, but it is impossible to tolerate shelling indefinitely. The situation is clarified by the number of killed and wounded among the civilian population of Marinka and Donetsk. Despite the fact that the militia stormed the village until the evening, according to the ATO headquarters, only 2 of its residents were killed and 5 were wounded. But in Donetsk, where, as Kiev assures, no one fired at all, 38 people were killed and 120 were wounded. Thus, trusting the report of OSCE observers, it is enough to compare civilian casualties to understand who provoked whom on June 3 on the eve of the discussion in the European Union about the extension of anti-Russian sanctions.

In turn, Moscow is trying to insist on common sense. “These provocative actions are organized by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Previously, against the backdrop of major international operations, the Ukrainian side has repeatedly taken such actions to escalate tension. This has happened now...,” said Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. At the same time, DPR Plenipotentiary Representative Denis Pushilin said that the fighting near Marinka should not lead to a breakdown in the negotiation process. But apparently, Kyiv does not need negotiations, but a continuation of the war, which will save it from the need to give Donbass a special status and so on. And the fact that Donetsk, led not by professional military men, but by former miners, easily succumbs to provocations and goes on the offensive itself, is only to its advantage.