On Christmas Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin received a big gift, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, on the same day the Russian army captured Maryinka, a strategic town in eastern Ukraine. According to Russian media, this is one of the biggest achievements in eastern Ukraine since the Russian army took Bakhmut in May this year. It is reported that although Marinka is small in area and has a population of only more than 10,000, its strategic location in the entire eastern region of Ukraine is very important, and it is known as a "ghost town". Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the two sides have launched a fierce competition around Maryinka, the Russian army has invested a lot of troops here, and the Ukrainian army defending the city is also very tenacious, in terms of intensity, the war in Maryinka is not lower than Bakhmut.
According to Russian media reports, after the outbreak of military conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014, the Ukrainian army comprehensively strengthened the city and built a large number of fortifications in order to prevent the city from being controlled by the local armed forces in Donetsk. After taking full control of this strategic location, the situation of the Russian army in eastern Ukraine has opened up at once, and Putin believes that controlling Maryinka is of great significance. On the one hand, it shows that the Russian army is repelling the Ukrainian army, and on the other hand, after gnawing the hard bone of Maryinka, the Russian army will be able to carry out a larger military operation in eastern Ukraine, because a very important and solid military stronghold of the Ukrainian army in this area has been removed, and then, the Ukrainian army's defense in other parts of eastern Ukraine is also facing the risk of being defeated by the Russian army.
Ukraine is also well aware of the importance of Maryinka, so after the Russian army announced full control of Maryinka, Kyiv came out to refute the rumors, saying that the Russian army did not fully control the city, the news was fake, the Ukrainian army was still holding on, and the fighting was still continuing, but the city was indeed destroyed. In any case, judging from the statements of both Russia and Ukraine, the Russian army has indeed made a major breakthrough in the battle in Maryinka, and this victory is simply not too timely for the current Russian army, and it can boost the morale of the Russian army to a large extent. Some time ago, in the face of the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive, the Russian army was very passive for a while, and its morale was a little low. In addition, the capture of Maryinka will definitely have a certain impact on future negotiations.
Although there is no sign of a ceasefire in the current Russia-Ukraine conflict, judging from the exposure of foreign media, Russia and Ukraine and Western countries have the intention of holding negotiations, the main reason is that this conflict has lasted too long, and if it continues, there will be no winner or loser, and there will be no winner. As for Western countries, the continuous military assistance to Ukraine has made them a little unable to hold on, and if they continue to assist, it can really hurt their muscles and bones, and the key is that such investment will not achieve much return, and it does not make much sense. Therefore, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will eventually return to the negotiating table and end it through dialogue.
The Russian army took Maryinka, and if the next negotiations followed, it would undoubtedly give Putin one more bargaining chip and more confidence. Putin will then have more options, so that the pressure will be shifted to the side of Ukraine and Western countries, and Putin will be able to put forward more favorable conditions in the negotiations. For Ukraine, the counteroffensive has basically failed, and if it continues to fight, it may lose more "Maryinka", and it may be the best choice to negotiate earlier.