Russia Captures Key Ukrainian City of Kostiantynivka
Photo: REUTERS
Russian defense ministry informed President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces captured Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, a major locality Moscow has long targeted for its Donetsk region advance.
Putin, who received the report from top commanders during a command post visit, praised the city’s seizure as a vital strategic achievement. He said that Russia must expand its security zones because of intensified Ukrainian long-range strikes against the national oil industry.
Chief of Russia’s General Staff General Valery Gerasimov officially announced the capture during a report on the war, which is now entering its fifth year. Gerasimov noted that the southern group of forces is conducting offensive operations to “liberate” the entire Donetsk region, a core objective for the Kremlin.
He said, “The troops of the group have liberated the city of Kostiantynivka, one of the main defensive hubs of the enemy within the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk-Kostiantynivka fortified area.”
The military previously reported control over portions of the city, which serves as a key industrial and transport center for the Donbas.
Putin remarked, “We all know that this city is a key transport and large industrial centre of Donbas.” On Telegram, the Defence Ministry published images showing Russian soldiers holding national flags near destroyed buildings in the city.
Gerasimov further informed Putin that Russian troops are nearing Lyman, a town 45 miles north with significant logistical and strategic value.
Meanwhile, Yevgeny Nikiforov, head of Russia’s northern troops, admitted his forces have “not yet fully managed to resolve the task” of stopping Ukrainian drone attacks on oil installations that have caused domestic fuel shortages.
In response, Putin declared, “The more attacks the enemy tries to carry out on our civilian facilities ... the larger a security zone we’ll have to establish in the neighbouring territory.”
Nikiforov reported progress in securing border zones in Kharkiv and Sumy, where Russia seeks expanded buffer areas. Conversely, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials claimed that Russian advances have slowed and that Kyiv’s forces recaptured some territory.
Putin dismissed these statements as an “information campaign in which it puts on display supposed successes.” He also recently rejected a request for a direct meeting sent via an open letter from Zelensky.
US-brokered peace efforts remain paused due to the conflict in Iran, though both nations expect a visit soon from negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Source: Reuters (adapted)
