The Kyiv Post quoted Ukrainian military commanders who said that if the separatists had captured Marinka and Krasnohorivka it would have created a choke point for the Ukrainian forces at Pisky and Avdiivka (north and northwest of Donetsk).[16] Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the battle told Kyiv Post that they believed the battle was intended to test their capabilities.[17] This view was echoed by Russian military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.[18] The rebels denied that they had attacked Marinka and described the fighting that took place at the town as them counter-attacking.[4]