The Ukrainian town of Maryinka was located in the Donetsk region. Before the arrival of russian troops, it was a cozy, green, and peaceful town with a population of about 10,000 people. General education and music schools, kindergartens, community centers, and local businesses operated here. Having been a frontline zone since 2014 as a result of the war in Donbas, the town lived under the constant threat of shelling for a long time, yet it preserved life and infrastructure. Maryinka suffered absolute, total destruction, turning into a "ghost town" that has been virtually wiped off the face of the earth. The destruction of the town was the result of nearly two years of continuous, brutal artillery shelling, airstrikes, and positional assaults during the full-scale invasion. The battles for Maryinka were among the longest and most exhausting of the war. Not a single intact building remains in the town: the entire housing stock-private homesteads and apartment buildings, as well as critical infrastructure, roads, schools, and administrative facilities have been completely destroyed. The civilian population was fully evacuated by the end of 2022. In late December 2023, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the ruins of the town after it was completely obliterated by russian assaults. Currently, Maryinka is under russian occupation, presenting a landscape of solid ruins. This is what it means to neighbor russia... - @hot678959