KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine, July 4 — Ukraine denied Saturday Moscow’s announcement that Russian forces had captured this strategic city in the eastern Donetsk region, a stronghold for Kyiv’s troops and a key Kremlin target. The duelling claims land as Russia also said Ukrainian drones had struck its second city, St Petersburg. The mechanics here are worth watching.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing a military uniform, thanked troops for seizing Kostyantynivka, a town with a pre-war population of 78,000 that Moscow has been trying to take for months. The army has been sending in small groups of soldiers to infiltrate and secure positions — a method previously used to capture the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in late 2025.
But Ukrainian army spokesman Andriy Kovalyov told AFP the city remained under its control. “The situation remains difficult,” Kovalyov said, but Kostyantynivka “is under the control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces.” He admitted that small groups of Russian troops have been infiltrating the town but insisted that fighting was ongoing. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Moscow’s announcement as “a lie.” “If Kostyantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end” the conflict, Zelensky said.
Moscow’s defence ministry, however, countered: “Russian troops are in all parts of the town — from the southern to northern outskirts.” The catch is that Kostyantynivka is one of the final obstacles on the route to the major Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Capturing them is the Kremlin’s ultimate goal in the Donbas.
On closer reading, the pattern follows a familiar Russian playbook: announce victory, then consolidate. The question is whether the infiltration reported by both sides represents a tactical foothold or a strategic breakthrough. Kovalyov said Saturday that “Ukrainian defenders continue to hold their positions along the designated defensive lines.” He did not specify how many small groups had infiltrated or exactly where they were operating.
Follow the money — or in this case, the military logic. If Kostyantynivka falls, the road to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk narrows significantly. Those cities are the prize in the Donbas, and Moscow has been grinding toward them for months.
The Kremlin’s claim of full control, even if premature, signals an intent to declare progress and shift the narrative ahead of any potential negotiations. Zelensky’s challenge — meet me there — is a sharp rhetorical move, but it also exposes the stakes.
If the city were truly under Russian control, the offer would be meaningless. If it is not, the Kremlin’s claim looks like the bluster it may be. What to watch next: whether the small-group infiltration method that worked at Pokrovsk yields the same result here, and whether the Ukrainian defensive lines hold.
The duelling claims will likely be resolved not by official statements but by which side controls the roads, the supply lines, and the high ground in the days ahead.
