{"id":3963,"date":"2026-07-11T20:06:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T20:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3963"},"modified":"2026-07-11T20:06:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T20:06:40","slug":"russia-says-kostiantynivka-has-fallen-ukrainian-troops-inside-the-city-tell-a-different-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=3963","title":{"rendered":"Russia says Kostiantynivka has fallen. Ukrainian troops inside the city tell a different story"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KYIV, UKRAINE \u2014 When Moscow claimed the capture of Kostiantynivka last week, Russian generals presented the battle as settled.<\/p>\n

Read more Rep. Khanna says armed Israeli settlers detained him in West Bank<\/a><\/p>\n

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, delivered the news to President Vladimir Putin during a televised visit to a military command post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr. Putin praised the troops involved and called the city\u2019s seizure an important strategic achievement.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Defense Ministry followed up with footage of soldiers planting flags among ruined apartment blocks and said its forces were clearing the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance.<\/p>\n

The Ukrainian soldiers still fighting inside Kostiantynivka offered a different perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cKostiantynivka remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces,\u201d read a statement from Ukraine\u2019s 19th Army Corps, which oversees the defense of the area<\/p>\n

The corps later published footage of Ukrainian servicemen at several locations in the city. Some of the landmarks were geolocated inside Kostiantynivka, according to independent reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Mr. Putin of lying and sarcastically invited the Russian leader to visit the supposedly conquered city if he believed his own commanders.<\/p>\n

Neither side\u2019s claims can be independently confirmed across the entire urban area.<\/p>\n

The evidence available so far, however, does not show that Russian troops have established complete control.<\/p>\n

Instead, the battle appears to have entered a murky stage now common along the Ukrainian front. Russian assault groups are present inside parts of the city, while Ukrainian infantry and drone teams remain active elsewhere. Some streets are occupied, others are under constant observation from drones, and many cannot be used safely by either army.<\/p>\n

In such conditions, a flag proves very little.<\/p>\n

A Russian team of three or four men can slip through damaged buildings, reach an apartment block and record a flag-raising before withdrawing or being attacked. Ukrainian soldiers may no longer be able to move openly through the same block, yet still watch it through drones and strike anyone who enters.<\/p>\n

A unit can therefore have a presence in a neighborhood without fully controlling it.<\/p>\n

To hold ground, troops must remain there, communicate with commanders, receive ammunition and food, evacuate their wounded and prevent the enemy from returning.<\/p>\n

Russian footage has demonstrated penetration into Kostiantynivka, but has not established that Moscow can perform those tasks throughout the city.<\/p>\n

The Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces continued infiltration and consolidation operations after the Kremlin announced the city\u2019s capture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Washington-based research group found no evidence that Russia had seized all of Kostiantynivka and described the announcement as part of an information campaign intended to portray Russian victory as inevitable.<\/p>\n

Even some Russian military bloggers questioned the official account and said the flag-raising missions were \u201cconducted for the camera\u201d while fighting continued nearby.<\/p>\n

The information campaign extended beyond the initial declaration.<\/p>\n

Russian commanders proposed a six-hour local ceasefire to collect the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, giving the impression that organized Ukrainian resistance had ended and only the dead remained.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Highly unusual\u2019: Expect another long wait in the Charlie Kirk murder case<\/a><\/p>\n

Moscow later accused Kyiv of rejecting the offer. Ukraine did not initially comment publicly on the proposal.<\/p>\n

For the Kremlin, declaring the victory early carries political value.<\/p>\n

Kostiantynivka lies at the southern end of the chain of cities that form Ukraine\u2019s \u201cfortress belt\u201d, its remaining defensive backbone in the Donetsk oblast.<\/p>\n

The cities of Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk stand farther north.<\/p>\n

Capturing that urban belt remains central to Mr. Putin\u2019s effort to occupy all of the Donbas. Russia controls most of the Donetsk region but has spent years fighting for the portion still held by Ukraine.<\/p>\n

A victory in Kostiantynivka would allow Moscow to claim that the southern gate to the remaining Ukrainian-held cities had been forced open.<\/p>\n

The Russian announcement also supports the Kremlin\u2019s diplomatic argument that time is on its side: By presenting each penetration as a completed conquest, Moscow can tell Washington and European capitals that further support for Kyiv will only delay an unavoidable outcome.<\/p>\n

Russian forces have pressed toward Kostiantynivka for months, advancing through surrounding settlements and attacking the roads connecting the city with the Ukrainian rear. More than 100 Russian soldiers were already believed to be operating inside the urban area by early June, according to the 19th Army Corps.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur infantry continues to operate in Kostiantynivka, but the logistical situation is very difficult,\u201d a Ukrainian drone pilot positioned in the area told The Washington Times. \u201cWe continue to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russian commanders do not have to seize every street in a direct assault. Rather, their forces can gradually make the city too costly to supply.<\/p>\n

Reconnaissance drones watch the roads leading in and out. First-person-view drones wait for cars, armored vehicles and ambulances. Artillery and glide bombs strike suspected headquarters, firing positions and shelters. Rotations that once required a short drive may have to be conducted in small groups, on foot or during bad weather that limits drone visibility.<\/p>\n

A road can remain open on a map while becoming unusable in practice.<\/p>\n

That pressure is shaping the broader front. The clear line separating two armies has widened into a miles-wide killzone made up of exposed roads, abandoned villages and fields constantly watched from above. Infantry units often hold scattered basements, tree lines and industrial buildings rather than continuous trenches.<\/p>\n

Between them lie gray zones where both sides send small groups but neither can move freely.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of drones has made consolidation exponentially harder. During earlier phases of the war, an attacking force that reached a building could bring up vehicles, ammunition and reinforcements. Now, those follow-on forces may be detected miles away.<\/p>\n

Capturing a position is often easier than supplying it.<\/p>\n

Russia has adapted by sending small assault teams forward repeatedly. While many are destroyed outirght, others find weak points, remain hidden and wait for reinforcements. Over time, the infiltrations force Ukrainian units to divert men and drones to areas behind what had been considered the front.<\/p>\n

The method produces few dramatic breakthroughs. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Russian forces advanced roughly 10 miles toward Kostiantynivka between August 2025 and early June 2026, an average of about 165 feet per day.<\/p>\n

The pace helps explain Moscow\u2019s eagerness to announce victories before they are secure. It also shows why dismissing the advances as insignificant would be a mistake.<\/p>\n

Russia can absorb months of heavy casualties while maintaining pressure across several sectors. Ukraine has far fewer infantrymen and must defend long stretches of ground while protecting supply routes from constant drone attacks. Each village lost brings Russian drone operators and artillery closer to the next Ukrainian road.<\/p>\n

Kostiantynivka illustrates the new dynamic at the front.<\/p>\n

Russia has not demonstrated full control of the city, despite the ceremony staged around its supposed capture. Ukrainian troops remain inside and continue to fight.<\/p>\n

Their ability to remain there will depend less on who plants the next flag than on whether Ukraine can still move soldiers, ammunition and casualties through the shrinking corridor behind them.<\/p>\n

Read more U.S. extends work permits for immigrants with temporary protected status<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When Moscow claimed the capture of Kostiantynivka last week, Russian generals presented the battle as settled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,69],"tags":[2377,148,2376,25],"class_list":["post-3963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-threat-status","tag-kostiantynivka","tag-ukraine","tag-valery-gerasimov","tag-vladimir-putin"],"yoast_head":"\nRussia says Kostiantynivka has fallen. 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