Marinka, Ukraine
Marinka (Ukrainian: Мар'їнка) is a small city and the administrative center of Marinka Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province), Ukraine.[2] Population: 5,000 (2016 est.)[3];[4] 9,913 (2013 est.)[5]; 10,722 (2001). The city has been damaged by and is on the frontline of the War in Donbass.[4][6]
Marinka Мар'їнка | |
---|---|
City | |
Our Lady of Kazan Orthodox Cathedral in Marinka | |
Marinka Marinka | |
Coordinates: 47°56′31″N 37°30′13″E | |
Country | |
Oblast | |
Raion | Marinka |
Founded | 1840s[1] |
Population (2013) | |
• Total | 9,913 |
Early history
Sometime after the 1775 liquidation of Zaporizhian Sich, lands of Kalmius Palatine were initially passed to the Greek re-settlers.[7] However according to the general plan of the Aleksandrovsk county of 1830s, the area of Maryinka and surrounding villages was not colonized.[7] 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).[7] 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.[7] Unlike the state peasants who used a community land, the exiled Poles were considered as landowners ("odnodvortsy").[7]
By 1859 there were 1,318 people.[7] As a state village, Marinka belonged to the fourth stan of Aleksandrovsk county, Yekaterinoslav Governorate.[7] The village administration consisted of a village senior (head of village), a tax collector, a secretary, and a supervisor.[7] 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[8]
War in Donbass
Starting in mid-April 2014 pro-Russian militants captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast;[9][10] including Marinka.[11] On August 5, 2014, Ukrainian forces regained control of Marinka.[12] Ukrainian forces involved in the recapture included the Azov Battalion, whose flag flew in the city in early August.[13] 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).[14]
The city is shelled on a regular basis, with Ukrainian troops returning fire.[15] Pro-Russian fighters accused Ukrainian troops of using their positions in Marinka to shell militant-controlled Donetsk - a claim denied by the Ukrainian military.[6]
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.[16] (The driver had ignored land mine warning signs.[16])
(According to Ukrainian MP Iryna Herashchenko) in September 2016 5.000 people lived in Marinka.[4]
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.[6][17] They stated they only engaged in defence measures after an assault by the Ukrainian army.[18] By then the town had already been devastated by months of heavy fighting.[6]
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.[6][19] 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.[20] According to OSCE figures, 28 people, including 9 civilians, were killed in Marinka on 3 June 2015.[21]
Gallery
- Central part of Marjinka
- World War II memorial
- Administrative building
- Afghan War memorial in city park
References
- Marinka in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
- Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Google Books
- "Чисельність наявного населення України (Actual population of Ukraine)" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Only three EU parliamentarians out of 20 mustered courage to visit eastern Ukraine, Ukraine Today (20 September 2016)
- Чисельність наявного населення України [Actual population of Ukraine] (in Ukrainian). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- Ukraine crisis: Violence flares up near Donetsk, BBC News (3 June 2015)
- Maryinka in The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR
- "Execution of Jews in Maryinka", Yahad – In Unum.
- Ragozin, Leonid, "Vladimir Putin Is Accidentally Bringing Eastern and Western Ukraine Together", newrepublic.com, April 16, 2014.
- "Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service", en.itar-tass.com, June 6, 2014.
- "Airstrike kills nine as apartment block demolished in Ukraine", irishtimes.com, July 15, 2014.
- "Ukraine fighting reaches rebel-held Donetsk", AP, August 5, 2014.
- Kramer, Andrew E., "Ukraine Strategy Bets On Restraint by Russia", New York Times, August 9, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
- We Can Win After All, The Ukrainian Week (6 August 2015)
- Civilians Stuck in the Middle of Donbass Horror, Moscow Times (29 July 2015)
- 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) - Kremlin-separatist forces try to take Maryinka as fighting breaks out along front line, Kyiv Post (3 June 2015)
- Ukraine at risk of return to full war after major battle in Donetsk, The Guardian (3 June 2015)
- "Ukraine ceasefire deal agreed at Belarus talks". The Guardian. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- Spot report by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (SMM), 3 June 2015: Fighting around Marinka, OSCE (4 June 2015)
- 28 killed in recent Maryinka battle – UN, Ukraine Today (5 June 2015)
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