Political, Military & Psychological Effect: Experts on Russian Liberation of Maryinka

The liberation of the city of Maryinka by Russian troops brings with it multiple positive effects for Russia, ranging from political and military to psychological, political scientist and political-military expert Yuri Podolyaka, told Sputnik.

Starting with the political significance of the event, the expert noted that Maryinka stands out as the first city to be liberated by the Russian army since the spring of this year.

"Maryinka is the first city, and it is a city, not just a settlement, that was liberated by our army after the spring of this year, when we completely liberated Artemovsk (Bakhmut) at the end of May. So this is a political moment," Podolyaka stressed.

From the military point of view, the liberation of the city is essentially a "very important" strategic advantage, since Russian troops have broken through the enemy's main line of defense, built up over many years. The liberation of the city means that Russian soldiers have a very good chance of solving the problems near Ugledar, 35 kilometers from Maryinka, the analyst added.

Podolyaka also cited the psychological aspect of taking control of Maryinka.

"For the enemy, who has once again declared Maryinka an impregnable fortress, this is a decisive psychological break. Ukrainian soldiers already realize that they are in other directions, that they are doomed there. Besides, they are already writing about it, making videos and so on. So there are many aspects," the expert pointed out.

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The political analyst added that Ukrainian news channels supporting President Volodymyr Zelensky began to use the phrase that the Ukrainian troops "retreated to new favorable positions," just as the German newsmen of the Third Reich did to justify the army's defeats.

"Thus, Ukrainian propaganda adopts what Dr. Goebbels invented when he justified the defeat of German troops at one and another frontier and their retreat further and further to the West. That is, Kiev has crossed this line and is now gradually retreating to the West and will try to slow down this process," he opined.

Assessing Russia's successes in the 2023 special military operation, Podolyaka divided them into two phases: winter-spring, when Russian troops conducted offensive operations and liberated a number of cities, including Artemovsk, and the summer counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces.

The expert noted that Kiev's counteroffensive "failed miserably, despite the fact that it was prepared, with a huge amount of resources, money and equipment allocated to it."

"The enemy could not achieve anything, but only wiped out its reserves, and accordingly we smoothly moved into the third stage of this campaign of 2023 - our offensive, and in many directions at once," Podolyaka remarked. "If we read just today's reports carefully, we are surprised to see that we are advancing everywhere, just everywhere."

Commenting on how the liberation of Maryinka will affect the West's support for Ukraine, the expert noted that in order to receive it, Zelensky will have to convince his allies that he will be able to effectively ensure the implementation of certain Western plans.

At the same time, Podolyaka noted that the West understands "very well" that there is no question of Ukraine's victory.

"The question is what will be the result of Ukraine's defeat, what kind of shape Eastern Europe will be in after Ukraine's defeat. If they [Western countries] realize that Zelensky can somehow help them redraw that map in a better way than it would otherwise be, then of course they will support him, and if not, then no. I think the next few months will show that," the military expert concluded.

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'The Population Will Be Safe'

The capture of Maryinka by the Russian military is in line with the goal of the Russian special operation to protect the population of Donbass, Mokhtar Saïd Mediouni, former colonel in the Algerian Air Force, geopolitical expert, told Sputnik Africa.

"The capture of Maryinka was strategic for the Russian forces, because this place allowed the Kiev forces, the Ukrainian forces, to harass the Donbass and the civilian population there in this region for the first time since 2014. Today, by taking this strategic town, the range of Ukrainian artillery will be reduced and therefore the population will be safe," he said.

The expert noted that the Russian army has achieved its goals for 2023, having strengthened its defense line and is now in a strong position to protect the population of Donbass and defend the acquired land.

In addition, Saïd Mediouni called the Ukraine's counteroffensive a "NATO counteroffensive," and emphasized that the experience of the Russian special operation in Ukraine had shown the vulnerability of Western weapons and led to the excitement about Russian weapons.

"What's more, if we take the current [Israeli-Palestinian] conflict as an example, the war against the people of Gaza has shown that Western weapons have failed to achieve military superiority in the air and on the ground, even against Hamas fighters. As a result, at all arms fairs, all countries, not only African and Middle Eastern countries, show great interest in the Russian military-industrial complex," the analyst pointed out.

The expert also noted the "hypocrisy" of the West and the fact that "no one can trust it anymore," citing the example of the conclusion of the Minsk agreements by Germany and France to allow Ukraine to build up armaments.

"Quite simply, it's all been hypocritical, a Machiavellian plan to allow Ukraine to prepare for war by subcontracting, because it's NATO that's waging war on Russia to weaken it. Unfortunately for them, Russia has grown. It will come out of this conflict with Ukraine, or with NATO, if you will, even stronger," Saïd Mediouni underlined.

Apart from that, he pointed to Moscow's rapprochement with African countries, as Russia "has historically never occupied African territories, never colonized African peoples, which gives it an advantage as an equal partner with African countries."

On Monday, Minister Shoigu said in his report to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the liberation of Maryinka allows for a more effective defense of Donetsk against Ukrainian forces, and that this development weakens the defenses of the Ukrainian military and gives Russian forces additional opportunities for further action.