KYIV, Ukraine, Dec  26, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Ukraine's commander-in-chief said

on Tuesday his forces had pulled back to the outskirts of the town of Maryinka,
a day after Moscow claimed full control of the key town.
       "We have now moved to the outskirts of Maryinka, and in some places already
beyond the boundaries of the settlement," Valeriy Zaluzhny told reporters in
Kyiv.
       Maryinka is close to the key Russian-held city of Donetsk in east Ukraine.
       "We protect every piece of our land but the lives of our soldiers are more
important to us," Zaluzhny said, adding that in any case the town "no longer
exists" after being destroyed "street by street" by the Russians.
       Of the troop move, he said: "There is nothing in this that can cause a
public outcry."
       Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Monday had said Russian forces
had "completely" captured Maryinka, speaking at a meeting with President
Vladimir Putin shown on state television.
       Piles of rubble and gutted apartment buildings over a wide area could be
seen in drone images shown on Russian television that were said to be of
Maryinka.
       "I want to congratulate you," Putin told Shoigu.
       "This is a success" which gives Russian troops "the opportunity to move
into a wider operational area", the president said.
       Shoigu said that control of Maryinka would enable his soldiers to "move
further in this direction" and "make it possible to protect Donetsk more
effectively from strikes" from Ukrainian forces.
       But Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for Ukraine's army, said on Monday it
was "incorrect" to claim that Maryinka was fully controlled by Russian forces.
       "The fighting for Maryinka continues," he said, adding that there were
still Ukrainian soldiers within the borders of the district of Maryinka.