ST. PETERSBURG, December 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he believes that the liberation of Maryinka, a settlement in the Donetsk People’s Republic, is helping Russian troops to gain more room for maneuver.
At a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, the president said there were "at least two positive effects."
"The first is that we are pushing the enemy’s combat units away from Donetsk. The second is that by breaking through this fortified area - which the enemy had been building essentially since 2014, having constructed a significant number of reinforced concrete fortifications and communication routes there - by breaking through this fortified area, our troops are gaining an opportunity to broaden their space of operations," Putin said.
"But this, of course, is a matter for local commanders and specialists from the General Staff of the Defense Ministry. It is a separate topic," Putin said. "In any case, this opportunity is now available in that area.
The president is going to talk to Shoigu separately to discuss further plans for the special military operation following the liberation of Maryinka.
"We will talk separately about further plans. We talked today with the chief of the General Staff [of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov]. This is a separate topic. We will confer on what to do next," the president said.
Putin has praised the liberation of Maryinka as a success and expressed gratitude to Russian military servicemen.
"This is a success," the president said at a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, after listening to his report about the liberation of the settlement.
Putin congratulated the minister and asked him to pass on the "warmest congratulations and words of gratitude to all the personnel, all the servicemen who took part at different times, at different stages in the battles to liberate Maryinka."