MOSCOW: Russia has claimed to have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, describing it as a major strategic gain in its offensive across the Donbas region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russian forces had taken full control of the city following months of fighting.
“Kostyantynivka has been completely taken. The city is now entirely under our control,” Peskov told reporters, adding that President Vladimir Putin had been briefed by military commanders.
Ukraine had not immediately commented on the Russian claim, and it could not be independently verified.
Strategic Advance in Donbas
Kostyantynivka, which had a pre-war population of about 78,000, is considered a key logistical hub on the route to the Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two of Kyiv’s remaining strongholds in the Donbas.
The battle for the city has continued since late 2025 and has become one of Russia’s main military efforts along the more than 1,000-kilometre front line.
Appearing on Russian television in military uniform alongside senior commanders, President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russian troops and described the capture of Kostyantynivka as being of “major strategic importance”.
“The Russian armed forces continue to firmly maintain the strategic initiative” on the battlefield, Putin said.
Russian Forces Expand Control
Russian military commander Anton Grunis said troops were conducting operations to locate and eliminate remaining Ukrainian soldiers believed to be sheltering in damaged buildings, basements and other ruins inside the city.
Peskov also claimed Russian forces had established full control over the entire Luhansk region, one of the two regions that make up the Donbas, though Ukraine has previously disputed similar Russian assertions.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said Russian troops were now about nine kilometres from the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, while another military commander said Russian forces were around 10 kilometres from the northern regional capital of Sumy.
