Russian military forces are advancing toward Kostiantynivka, a strategically vital city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, as they attempt to gain control near one of Ukraine’s most heavily fortified defensive positions, according to Ukraine’s top military commander on Saturday.
The city serves as part of what military officials describe as a fortress network across eastern Ukraine — a zone that has been extensively fortified by Ukrainian defense forces.
“We are repelling the Russian occupiers’ persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city,” stated Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s army chief, in a message posted to the Telegram platform.
According to DeepState, a Ukrainian military tracking initiative, Russian forces have gained control of territory approximately one kilometer (0.6 mile) from Kostiantynivka’s southern perimeter.
Portions of southeastern Kostiantynivka are currently designated as contested territory, indicating that neither Ukrainian nor Russian forces maintain complete control over these areas.
Moscow’s defense ministry announced Wednesday that its forces had secured Novodmytrivka, located directly north of Kostiantynivka. Russia’s top military commander Valery Gerasimov stated in April that troops were making progress both north and south of the city.
According to Syrskyi, Russian offensive operations increased significantly throughout April. He reported that since Monday alone, Russian forces have launched 83 assault operations in this area using small infantry units.
Moscow is demanding that Ukraine withdraw from territories in Donetsk and the adjacent Luhansk region that Russia has been unable to capture during its four-year full-scale invasion. Peace negotiations facilitated by the United States have stalled over this issue, as Ukrainian leadership maintains that Kyiv will not surrender territory it currently holds.
Over recent years, Russian forces have been unable to seize any major urban centers in Ukraine, instead making gradual progress by capturing smaller communities, primarily in the country’s eastern regions.
The capture of Pokrovsk, a small city whose pre-war population of over 60,000 residents largely evacuated, represented Moscow’s most significant territorial gain in the past year. Russian troops required months to advance on the city, and Kyiv maintains it still holds certain positions within the area.
