Kostyantynivka is on the defensive: why the Kremlin’s loud statements turned out to be just another soap bubble

The city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast is under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, despite fake statements spread by Russian sources and personally by the Russian dictator about its alleged complete capture.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces are holding defensive lines both in the city itself and on the approaches to it. Official Ukrainian agencies, including the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR MO) and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine categorically deny the Kremlin’s statements, calling them another information special operation. According to the GUR MO, Moscow’s statements are significantly exaggerated.

The enemy’s real presence is limited to the actions of individual sabotage and reconnaissance groups moving between Ukrainian positions, which does not mean operational control over the city. According to Ukrainian intelligence, due to the enemy’s infiltration tactics, a significant part of the city’s buildings has turned into a dynamic “gray zone” where fierce shooting and local battles are taking place. Ukrainian forces are quickly identifying and clearing these groups.

It is worth noting that for the third year in a row, the Russians and the occupiers in Donetsk have been unable to fully capture the city of Chasiv Yar , which is a key bridgehead for further advances to Kostyantynivka. In Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian units hold the Shevchenko microdistrict, and have achieved significant tactical successes over the past month. It is precisely control over this microdistrict that prevents the occupiers from creating an operational encirclement of the Ukrainian group in Kostyantynivka.

Therefore, dictator Putin’s statements about the capture of Konstantinovka by Russian troops are another pseudo-victory.

Let me remind you that on July 3, 2026, the Russian dictator held a public meeting with the Russian military leadership at one of the command posts. During the meeting, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Gerasimov, reported to the dictator that Russian troops had allegedly established “full control” over Konstantinovka.

In turn, the Russian dictator called the city a key industrial center and declared that its capture is a “victory of great strategic importance” that paves the way for the elimination of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk defense hub of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

But the defense of Kostyantynivka has its own nuances .

The peculiarity of the battles for Kostyantynivka is that the city is located in a lowland . This significantly complicates the situation of Ukrainian units, since the occupiers control the dominant heights in Toretsk and Chasovy Yar. This is what allows the enemy to keep under fire control both Kostyantynivka itself and the logistics of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. The situation is complicated. These are objective facts.

The main pressure of the occupiers on Kostyantynivka is exerted from the western part — from the villages of Illinivka and Berestok.

The situation there is complicated by the fact that the occupiers have the ability to infiltrate small assault groups. It is on the western outskirts of Kostyantynivka that a large number of industrial enterprises and social infrastructure facilities are concentrated. And the ability to control these facilities will allow the occupiers to accumulate their assault groups there.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the approaches to the city, the Russian command has concentrated a significant offensive group in the Konstantinivka direction (in the areas of Bakhmut, Chasovy Yar, and Toretsk), which numbers tens of thousands of servicemen.

In Kostyantynivka itself, attempts to break through by infantry groups or sabotage and reconnaissance forces (DRG) of the enemy are currently being recorded . According to various estimates, there are at most 160 Russian occupiers in the city. The Ukrainian military is conducting strike and search operations to destroy them.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the Ukrainian Defense Forces cannot fully use their main advantage — FPV drones — in urban conditions. This is exactly what the occupiers are trying to take advantage of. In addition to the western outskirts, the occupiers are also advancing from the eastern side.

But there, the advance is complicated by the fact that the occupiers have to break through to Kostyantynivka through forest belts, in fact over rough terrain. And this makes it possible to destroy the assault groups on the approach to the city.

Directly in Kostyantynivka, the main battles are currently taking place on the northeastern outskirts – in the area of Sobornosti Street, in private buildings of the “Shanghai” neighborhood.

The actions of the occupiers are aimed at cutting the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces into separate sectors, blocking logistics, and creating conditions for the destruction of the unified defense system of our defenders. But, despite the severity of the situation, the battles for Kostyantynivka have been going on for a year and a half. And today, the Russians do not have a stable zone of control in Kostyantynivka. And there is currently no reason to talk about a short-term prospect of capturing the city.

I would like to note that Kostyantynivka has already ceased to exist as a settlement adapted to normal life in the classical sense.

The invaders are turning Kostyantynivka into ruins. They regularly attack the city using attack aircraft, dropping guided bombs — from KAB-250 to KAB-3000. They also strike with FPV drones, cannon and rocket artillery.

But the most difficult thing is that the occupiers have brought heavy flamethrower systems TOS-1A “Sunset” to Kostyantynivka. This is a thermobaric weapon. It is forbidden to use it in urban areas. And given that, according to the city administration, 2,500 civilians remain in Kostyantynivka, the city is being burned down along with the local residents.

The Konstantinov direction remains the most fiercely fought section of the front . The occupiers here suffer enormous losses.

Every day in the battles on the eastern directions (Kostyantynov, Pokrovsky, Sloviansky), the enemy loses from 1,100 to 1,300 servicemen. In particular, over the past 24 hours, the losses of the occupiers along the entire line of contact amounted to 1,290 people, and the day before – 1,190 people.

Our defenders are carrying out successful raid operations, and also using the “kill-zone” tactic, when strikes are carried out even before the assault groups approach, as well as during evacuation measures. The mortality rate of Russians in this direction is about 75%. That is, the occupiers actually do not have the opportunity to carry out logistics to support small assault groups in the traditional way.

A significant confirmation of the critical level of losses was the fact that the Ministry of Defense of the occupying country, through the Russian media, suddenly proposed to declare a temporary ceasefire in the Kostyantynivka area, allegedly for a “humanitarian action” to transfer the bodies of the dead. The Ukrainian side regards such statements as an attempt by the enemy to take a tactical pause after the defeat of their advanced units.

Let me remind you that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Kremlin’s statements about the occupation of Kostyantynivka another Russian lie, which was launched to create an artificial informational pretext. The head of state ironically suggested that the Russian dictator hold bilateral peace talks directly in Kostyantynivka.

Earlier, the Vostok group of forces stated that the information of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin about the alleged complete capture of Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, is not true . The Ukrainian military emphasizes that the city remains under the control of the Defense Forces, and the fighting continues.

By the way, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated thatthe Kremlin’s announcement of the alleged complete capture of Konstantinovka is part of an information campaign . Analysts emphasize that the real situation on the battlefield does not confirm the Russian statements.

We remind you that the Russian army continues its offensive in the Donetsk region and is trying to reach Kostyantynivka, butthe Kremlin’s statements about significant successes on this section of the front do not correspond to the real situation.

Also follow “Pryamim” on Facebook , X , Telegram , and Instagram.