Russian forces have taken full control of Maryinka, a town in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin, one of Russia’s most important victories since the capture of Bakhmut in May, Reuters reported. The Ukrainian military denies this information and claims that their troops are still in the city.

Sergei Shoigu and Vladimir PutinPhoto: Oleksiy Danichev / Sputnik / Profimedia

Most stories about Maryinka, located southwest of the Russian-controlled regional center of Donetsk, describe it as a ghost town.

Putin said that taking control of the city, once home to 10,000 people, would allow Russian forces to push enemy combat units away from Donetsk.

“Our troops are (now) capable of reaching a wider operational zone,” he said in a video of the exchange between him and Shoigu posted online by a Kremlin journalist.

Russia’s last major success on the battlefield was the capture of Bakhmut in May, the site of some of the bloodiest fighting.

The Ukrainian military denies that Russia captured Maryinka

The Ukrainian military on Monday denied Russia’s claims that its troops captured the regional center of Marinka in eastern Ukraine, as previously stated by Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoigu.

“It is incorrect to talk about the capture of Maryinka,” Oleksandr Stupun, the spokesman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Ukrainian National Television.

“Our forces are inside the city,” he said.

Kyiv troops made little progress in the counteroffensive

Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June to regain lost territory in the south and east of the country, including Bakhmut.

Kyiv troops made little progress in their counteroffensive in the face of entrenched Russian resistance.

Russian forces have also stepped up ground and air attacks on the nearby town of Avdiyivka since mid-October as a centerpiece of their slow-moving offensive on Donbas in eastern Ukraine during the 22-month conflict.

In 2014, Avdiyivka was briefly captured by Russian-backed separatists, who seized large swaths of eastern Ukraine. Subsequently, fortifications were built around the city, which was considered the gateway to Donetsk.