Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that assault troops had captured a “heavily fortified” area near Donetsk, Russia’s regional capital.
Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valery Zaluzhnyi said Ukrainian forces had moved to the suburbs of Mariinka.
Mariinka – the gateway to Donetsk – was almost completely destroyed.
On Tuesday evening, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said Russian forces shelled the Kherson railway station, killing one police lieutenant and injuring several.
Police managed to successfully evacuate most of the 140 civilians who were waiting for the evacuation train at the time, he said in Telegram, likely preventing much higher casualties.
Mariinka, once home to 10,000 people, remained in Ukrainian hands throughout the Kremlin’s war in eastern Ukraine, which began when Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014 and its proxy forces occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
When the invasion began in earnest in 2022, Marinka was evacuated under relentless Russian attack.
“For nine years, the armed forces of Ukraine have created a strong fortified area that is connected by underground passages,” Shoigu said, adding that the fortified area has now been breached.
“Each street has its own fortified structures and is relatively protected against air and artillery attacks, long-range firing positions and complex underground communication systems.”
Putin described the capture as a “success” and said Ukrainian troops had now been pushed further from Donetsk, which they regularly shell from Mariinka.
The Kremlin leader also said that Russian forces have “opportunities to move to a wider operational area” in the Donetsk region.
The Ukrainian military initially denied the Russian claim, and Ukrainian military bloggers reported that Ukrainian troops were lingering in a small area of western Mariinka.
However, during a press conference on Tuesday, the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, confirmed that the Ukrainian troops had withdrawn.
“We are protecting every bit of our land. Every bit. But when on this narrow piece, enemy shells start digging into this place along with the stones, with the ground, with our soldiers, the lives of our soldiers are more important to us,” he said.
Gen Zaluzhnyi noted that Mariinka was held for almost two years, but was destroyed “street by street, house by house”.
“Mariinka is no more,” he added.
The city has been used by Ukraine as a defensive barrier since 2014, when Russian-backed fighters seized large areas of eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
President Putin launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
