Russian Troops Infiltrate Kostyantynivka With 130 Soldiers, Threatening Donbas Seizure
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 21
Russian Troops Infiltrate Kostyantynivka With 130 Soldiers, Threatening Donbas Seizure
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 21
Summary
Kostyantynivka has become a contested "grey zone," with Russian troops inside the city and pushing from the south toward the northern outskirts, according to Ukrainian soldiers and officers.
About 130 Russian soldiers remain in the city, Brig Gen Oleksandr Bakulin said, while frontline troops told the BBC Moscow is steadily adding forces and trying to surround the gateway to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Russian units are advancing slowly—sometimes 100 meters a day—but urban cover, pressure on Ukrainian drone crews and strikes on launch sites have made supply deliveries and defense increasingly difficult.
DeepState called the battle a "major crisis" and said losing Kostyantynivka would sharply worsen logistics and make even holding Kramatorsk extremely dangerous.
The push could bring Russia closer to seizing all of Donbas, even as Ukraine says it has disrupted Russian supply lines and fuel flows to Crimea with strikes deep behind the front.
As Russia slowly encircles a key city, are Ukraine's deep strikes a winning strategy or a costly distraction from the front?
As soldiers face encirclement, why does Kyiv insist the situation in the fortress city of Kostyantynivka is 'under control'?
Why is an 11-year-old Ukrainian fortress on the verge of collapse against Russia's grinding advance?
2026 Crisis in Kostyantynivka: Russian Advances, Ukrainian Defense, and the Fate of Donbas
Overview
In June 2026, Kostyantynivka faces a severe crisis as Russian forces, following earlier advances around Chasiv Yar and the capture of Toretsk, intensify their offensive with significant infiltration and escalated fighting. This escalation, which began in the summer of 2025 and worsened through winter 2026, has put immense pressure on Ukrainian defenders struggling to hold their ground. The battle’s outcome is critical: if Russia captures Kostyantynivka, it could threaten Ukraine’s main strongholds in the Donetsk region. The situation highlights the high stakes and the ongoing struggle for control in eastern Ukraine.