Ukrainian town near Kyiv that was reported retaken from Russians is still contested
Source: Washington Post
MAKARIV, Ukraine — Top Ukrainian government officials said Tuesday that this strategic town west of the capital, Kyiv, had been liberated from Russian forces.
Media all around the world reported the news, the latest indication that the Ukrainians were waging counterattacks and defeating the Russians in key locations, preventing them from encircling and seizing the capital.
But a visit by a team of Washington Post journalists to Makariv on Wednesday found the town still contested. Russian forces were still in control of roughly 15 percent of the town, an area they have held for nearly three weeks with little shifting of the front lines, according to the town’s mayor. There were no signs that any of the roughly 15,000 residents who fled were returning to the town.
As the Post journalists entered the town, Ukrainian soldiers ordered them to leave, warning them of incoming Russian Grad rockets. Minutes later, the sound of shells falling was heard, with black plumes of smoke rising over the town. Soon more blasts followed.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/23/russia-ukraine-war-news-biden-live-updates/#link-VBZGQTNS4BATVBSEHXXJHYPVR4
"But a visit by a team of Washington Post journalists to Makariv on Wednesday found the town still contested."
Why post this?
Because the truth matters.
I understand the importance of staying positive and keeping moral up and announcing positive news as Ukraine repels the brutal Russian invaders.
The Ukrainian government issues positive reports to boost morale and to tell the world they are still fighting and can ultimately win, I understand that.
But at some point truth matters too. It's important to accurately portray the war in our media to drive home to all of us sitting comfortably in our homes thousands of mile away how desperate and hard fought the war really is to ensure that Ukraine gets the level of support from NATO and the US that it actually needs.
As the Russians brutally shell the remaining 150,000 innocent civilians surrounded and trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol, inaccurate reports of advances in a small village 60 miles from Kyiv that has been reduced to rubble, abandoned by all its inhabitants and still contested by not only the shelling but also the physical presence of the Russian invaders are, I feel, ultimately counter-productive. The truth ultimately surfaces.
The Washington Post's journalists who courageously went into the heart of this contested village deserve commendation for their physical bravery and their integrity in reporting the facts on the ground that they observed first-hand.
= new reply since forum marked as read
whether true or not. This to me is counter-productive to the war effort by Ukrainians. Make sure Russians see this to help their propaganda effort. The Washington Post has always seemed RW in its politics to me therefore THEIR reporting is suspect.
Not as bad as Hannity's station but RW nonetheless. Ukraine will get their aid no matter who is right or wrong in their reporting. There are good people at the helm of this ship of state presently. And thank god trump the Putin puppet is not in power. Putin would have taken Ukraine by now...
Ukraine has said that its troops raised the country's flag in a town in the Kyiv region after driving out Russian forces.
On Monday Ukraine said that Makariv, about 30 miles west of Kyiv's center, had been "liberated from the invaders thanks to the heroic actions of our defenders."
The statement by Ukraine's defense ministry comes amid analysis that Russian plans to storm Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, were faltering.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukraine-retakes-makariv-from-russian-forces-as-invasion-falters/ar-AAVmdx8?ocid=BingNewsSearch
KYIV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian forces on Tuesday battled continuing Russian efforts to occupy Mariupol and claimed to have retaken a strategic suburb of Kyiv, mounting a defense so dogged that it is stoking fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin will escalate the war to new heights.
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2022/mar/23/ukrainian-forces-pushing-back/
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday their troops have driven Russian forces out of the strategically important town of Makariv, near Kyiv.
https://www.axios.com/ukraine-claims-makariv-retaken-202e7d83-9676-45d4-ba5e-bc17ad2cac43.html
These are just a few examples of articles that reported the Ukrainian government statement that they had retaken the town.
I think the Washington post article in the OP was indeed correct stating that such reporting had widely occurred in news sources world-wide.
In light of the ongoing shelling and street fighting in the city of Mariupol it seems likely that the Ukrainian government wanted to make an announcement on Monday of some success in pushing back the Russian invaders in a significant way as a counter narrative in the news coverage.
To that end, the announcement was a success.
But the facts on the ground were different, as the Washington Post journalist on scene reported today.
"Russian forces were still in control of roughly 15 percent of the town, an area they have held for nearly three weeks with little shifting of the front lines, according to the town’s mayor."
The mayor's statement paints quite a different picture of how much progress had actually been made.
Not in the last 3 weeks in any case.
But let me see if I can find out how much of the village Russia ever controlled and when...
Hmmm, apparently the village has been contested for most of March:
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-makarov-russia-1690326
Well, not regained, but we get the idea of the front lines moving back and forth. The Washington Post article quoted the mayor as saying the current front line around the village has been unchanged for the last 3 weeks.
Let me see if I can find out when the Russians first invaded the village...
On 2 March 2022, the Ukrainian military said that the town had been retaken from Russian forces by the 14th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 95th Air Assault Brigade.[6][7] On 7 March 2022, 13 civilians were killed and 5 rescued in an air strike on a bakery and bread factory ("Макарівський хлібозавод"
there.[8][9] On 9 March it was reported there was heavy fighting at Makariv and that Ukrainian troops still had control of the town.[10] On 12 March it was reported that the town had been bombarded from the north, with significant damage to apartments, schools and a medical facility operated by Adonis Medical Group.[11] On 15 March Ukrainian forces fought off a Russian attack [12] but subsequent reports implied that the settlement had been retaken by Russian forces.
On 22 March 2022, the General Staff of the Armed Ukraine Forces announced that Makariv had been recaptured from Russian forces. They added that "the Ukrainian flag was raised over the town of Makariv".[13][14][15][16]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makariv#:~:text=The%202022%20Russian%20invasion%20of%20Ukraine%20began%20on,the%20Ukrainians%20attacked%20a%20Russian%20military%20convoy%20there.
Ok, there it is. It seems that this village has been contested since the very first days of the Russian invasion, with the front line moving back and forth a bit repeatedly, but basically stalemated.
The current status of the village as reported by the Washington Post in the OP seems to be more of the same and not a major change by either side.
That was interesting to learn.
Thanks for the discussion.
