BY EMMANUEL OGBONNA
Russia announced on Friday that its armed forces had taken full control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, a strategically significant stronghold in the Donetsk region that Moscow has sought to capture for years as part of its military campaign in eastern Ukraine.
The announcement was made during a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s top military commanders, where Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov presented an update on the battlefield. According to Russian officials, the capture of Kostiantynivka marks one of the most significant military achievements in recent months and represents another step toward Moscow’s objective of taking control of the entire Donetsk region.
Videos released by the Kremlin showed Putin visiting a military command post, where he received detailed briefings from senior commanders overseeing operations in Ukraine. During the meeting, the Russian president praised the military’s reported success, describing Kostiantynivka as a city of enormous strategic and economic importance.
Putin emphasized that the city has long served as one of Ukraine’s major transportation hubs and industrial centers in the Donbas region. He said securing control of Kostiantynivka would strengthen Russia’s military position and improve logistical operations for future advances in eastern Ukraine.
General Gerasimov told Putin that Russian troops belonging to the Southern Group of Forces had completed offensive operations that resulted in the city’s capture. He stated that military operations would continue with the objective of taking full control of the Donetsk region, one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims as its own despite ongoing international rejection of those claims.
According to Gerasimov, Kostiantynivka had served as one of Ukraine’s principal defensive positions within the fortified Sloviansk-Kramatorsk-Kostiantynivka defense network. He described the city as a major obstacle that Russian forces had now overcome after months of fighting.
Russian military officials have previously stated that their troops controlled portions of Kostiantynivka, but Friday’s announcement marked the first official declaration that the entire city had come under Russian control.
As of Friday, Ukrainian authorities had not publicly responded to Russia’s claim, and there was no immediate independent verification of the reported capture.
Russia’s Defense Ministry also released photographs and video footage on its official Telegram channel that it said showed Russian soldiers inside Kostiantynivka. The images included troops raising Russian flags among heavily damaged buildings, although the authenticity and exact location of the footage could not be independently confirmed.
During the military briefing, Gerasimov also informed Putin that Russian forces were continuing offensive operations toward the town of Lyman, located roughly 70 kilometers north of Kostiantynivka. He described Lyman as another strategically important location whose capture would support further military advances and strengthen Russia’s operational position in the region.
The battlefield update also focused on security concerns inside Russia following a series of Ukrainian long-range drone attacks targeting energy infrastructure, particularly oil refineries and fuel storage facilities. Russian military officials acknowledged that the strikes have disrupted operations at several energy sites and contributed to temporary fuel shortages in some areas.
Commander Yevgeny Nikiforov, who leads Russia’s northern military grouping, admitted that Russian forces had not yet completely eliminated the threat posed by Ukrainian drone attacks. He said military units continue working to improve air defense systems and expand protective measures along vulnerable areas near the border.
Responding to the briefing, Putin said Russia would continue expanding so-called security or buffer zones near the Ukrainian border if attacks on Russian territory persist. He argued that repeated strikes against civilian infrastructure and industrial facilities require additional measures to protect Russian regions.
Putin stated that the larger the number of attacks carried out by Ukraine against Russian territory, the broader the security zones Russia would seek to establish in neighboring areas.
Nikiforov also reported continued progress by Russian troops operating in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions near the border, where Moscow has repeatedly stated it intends to create expanded buffer zones designed to reduce the threat of cross-border attacks.
The latest Russian claims come as Ukraine continues to argue that Moscow’s offensive momentum in eastern Ukraine has slowed compared with earlier stages of the conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has maintained that Ukrainian forces have stabilized parts of the front line and, in some sectors, successfully regained limited territory from Russian troops.
Putin dismissed those statements during Friday’s meeting, describing Ukraine’s battlefield reports as part of an information campaign intended to present an overly optimistic picture of the situation.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled despite previous international mediation initiatives. Negotiations that had been encouraged by the United States have slowed amid broader geopolitical tensions, including the recent conflict involving Iran. Nevertheless, both Moscow and Kyiv have indicated they expect renewed diplomatic contacts in the near future.
Russian officials confirmed that preparations are underway for another round of discussions involving senior U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are expected to hold separate meetings aimed at exploring possible paths toward renewed negotiations. While expectations for a breakthrough remain limited, both sides have signaled a willingness to continue diplomatic engagement alongside ongoing military operations.
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