AZE.US
Russia and Ukraine are offering sharply conflicting accounts of the situation in Kostiantynivka, a strategically important city in the Donetsk region. Moscow says its forces have taken full control, while Kyiv insists Ukrainian troops remain inside the city and continue defensive operations.
A fresh Ukrainian military update on the morning of July 5 said Russian forces had carried out 17 attacks on the Kostiantynivka front over the previous 24 hours. The fighting was reported around Kostiantynivka, Illinivka and Ivanopillia, as well as toward Dovha Balka. The report does not independently establish control of individual neighborhoods, but it indicates that active combat continues in and around the city.
Russia announced the capture of Kostiantynivka on July 3. Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that Russian troops had seized the city and were clearing remaining pockets of Ukrainian resistance. Moscow described the claimed advance as a major strategic achievement.
Putin did not visit Kostiantynivka. Russian authorities said he visited an auxiliary command post of the joint Russian force, where military commanders briefed him and showed footage that Moscow said came from the city. The location of the command post was not publicly disclosed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected Russia’s announcement as false and challenged Putin to meet him in Kostiantynivka.
“If Kostiantynivka is now under Russian control, Putin should have no problem meeting me there,” Zelenskyy said, adding that the two leaders could seek diplomatic solutions to end the war. He argued that Putin would not cross the front line because the situation on the ground differed from Moscow’s claims.
The Kremlin responded by renewing its invitation for Zelenskyy to travel to Moscow.
“If Mr. Zelenskyy is expressing his readiness to come to the Russian Federation, we welcome that,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “But the capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, not Kostiantynivka.”
Russia has also proposed a six-hour pause in fighting around the city on July 6, saying it wants to transfer the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian Defense Ministry called for shelling to stop between noon and 6 p.m. Moscow time and asked Kyiv to respond by noon on July 5. Ukraine had not publicly accepted the proposal at the time of publication.
As of the morning of July 5, Russia’s claim of full control over Kostiantynivka had not been independently confirmed. Reuters said it could not verify battlefield statements from either side. Ukraine’s General Staff maintains that the city remains under Ukrainian control, while Russia says its forces are completing clearing operations.
Kostiantynivka is the southernmost major city in Ukraine’s fortified defensive line, which also includes Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Confirmed Russian control would provide Moscow with a potential base for further advances north through the remaining Ukrainian-held parts of the Donetsk region.
AZE.US