Syrskyi Visits Kostiantynivka, Presses Anti-Drone Defenses as Russia Probes City With 123 Troops
Updated
Updated · Daily Kos · Jun 21
Syrskyi Visits Kostiantynivka, Presses Anti-Drone Defenses as Russia Probes City With 123 Troops
1 articles · Updated · Daily Kos · Jun 21
Summary
June 19 visits by commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi to Kostiantynivka and nearby Sloviansk-Kramatorsk sectors included a war council with corps commanders and orders to address urgent anti-drone and ammunition shortages.
Syrskyi said Russian forces are attacking in small assault groups, using their manpower advantage to probe for weak points, while Ukrainian troops are conducting active defense and inflicting heavy losses.
Brigadier General Oleksandr Bakulin said Russia controls no part of Kostiantynivka and has about 123 troops inside the city, after an earlier infiltration of roughly 50 fighters in November 2025 was cleared.
The visit also undercut Russian claims that ground lines into Kostiantynivka had been cut, with Syrskyi able to enter the city and meet frontline commanders there.
Kostiantynivka is a key Donetsk defensive hub on Ukraine's prepared 'Fortress Belt,' where Kyiv says years of fortifications and lessons from Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar are shaping the defense.