Konstantynovka, a strategically important city in Ukraine's defensive belt in the Donetsk region, remains a zone of fierce urban fighting, with neither side in full control.
The Russian Defense Ministry officially reported to President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had established full control of the city after a nearly nine-month siege. Moscow is also using the situation for political pressure, offering short local truces, which Kiev rejects.
For its part, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine categorically refuted these allegations, stating that Ukrainian units continue to hold their positions. President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of spreading fake news to misinform international partners.
Independent military analysts confirm that Russian units have cut off the main roads north to Kramatorsk and seized a key factory near the railway, but Ukrainian troops are still putting up strong resistance in the central and southern districts, turning Konstantinovka into a gray zone of fighting.
The situation along the entire line of contact in eastern Ukraine remains extremely critical, with the fiercest clashes concentrated in several hot spots in the Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports.
Meanwhile, the Russian army is intensifying its pressure north towards Lyman - a city of key logistical importance. The operational situation is also complicated in the Kupyansk direction, where Russian units are trying to expand the buffer zones around the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, conducting constant rotations and infiltration missions along the border.
In response to the Russian offensive in Donbas, the Ukrainian army is betting on a massive campaign with drones and long-range missiles against Russian logistics in the rear. In recent hours, serious strikes have been recorded on energy facilities and oil refineries in the Kherson region and on the territory of the Russian Federation, which, according to independent observers, is seriously hampering communications and fuel supply to Russian front-line units.