Kostiantynivka, Ukraine. Russian troops are moving closer to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, seeking to establish positions near a heavily defended area, Ukraine’s top military official said on Saturday.
Ukraine describes infiltration attempts near city outskirts
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s army chief, said Ukrainian forces were repelling persistent Russian attempts to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. He said counter-sabotage measures were underway in the city, in comments posted on the Telegram app.
Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms part of what Ukraine describes as a fortress belt in the east, an area that is fortified by the Ukrainian military.
Mapping project shows Russian forces within about one kilometre
A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project, DeepState, showed Russian troops controlling an area around one kilometre from the city’s southern outskirts.
The project marked small sections in the city’s southeast as a grey zone, meaning neither Ukraine nor Russia has full control over those areas.
Russian statements cite nearby territorial gains
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of Novodmytrivka, located just north of Kostiantynivka.
Moscow’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, said in April that Russian troops were advancing in the north and south of the city.
Ukraine reports increased offensive activity in April
Syrskyi said Russian offensive attempts had risen noticeably in April. He said that since Monday, Russian troops had carried out 83 assaults in this sector using small infantry groups.
Peace talks stalled as territorial demands persist
Russia has demanded that Ukraine pull back from parts of the Donetsk region and neighbouring Luhansk region that it failed to capture during its four-year full-scale war.
US-brokered peace talks stalled over the issue, as Ukrainian officials say Kyiv will not cede land it still controls.
Russian advances described as gradual amid limited major captures
In recent years, Russian troops have not captured major city agglomerations in Ukraine, instead advancing gradually and taking small settlements, mostly in eastern Ukraine.
Pokrovsk, whose pre-war population of more than 60,000 mostly fled, was described as Russia’s most significant gain in the past year. The advance took months, and Kyiv says it still holds some positions in the city.
How do you think the fighting near Kostiantynivka could affect the wider front in eastern Ukraine?
