STORY: Moscow says its forces had gained full control of Maryinka but Kyiv’s military denied Moscow’s claim, saying Ukrainian troops were still within the borders of the blighted town.

“Our assault units (…) have today completely liberated the settlement of Maryinka,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised meeting, aired on Monday (December 25).

Putin said control of the town, which lies some three miles southwest of the city of Donetsk, will allow the Russian forces to move enemy combat units away from Donetsk.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports or who controls Maryinka, a small town in the Donetsk region that had a pre-war population of about 10,000 people and has since been turned into rubble.