Images from state Russian television show a landscape more like a lunar landscape than a city. Entire neighborhoods appear to have been razed to the ground.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on December 25 that it had taken control of Marinka, a town just outside Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. On the same day, the clips, which are said to have been filmed on the outskirts of the city, were published.
Ukraine: Maintains positions
Ukraine has also said that Marinka is in ruins, and that its forces have withdrawn from the city. However, it is claimed that Ukrainian forces still maintain positions on the outskirts of the city.
Neither Russia’s nor Ukraine’s information has been verified.