Russia announced that it has captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Konstantinovka. “Konstantinovka has been completely captured. The city is now completely under our control“, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. There has been no comment from the Ukrainian side so far, writes the German public media ARD.
The Ukrainian military recently admitted that the situation in the already heavily destroyed city is very difficult. The Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev reported on Friday evening only heavy fighting around Konstantinovka.
Why is the eastern Ukrainian city important
Konstantinovka is a strategically important stronghold on the way to the last larger cities in Donbas that are still under Kiev's control. The city, which had a pre-war population of 78,000, has been the scene of fierce fighting since late 2025.
The announcement that it had fallen coincided with a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to a command post where Russian troops are conducting operations in Ukraine. According to Kremlin spokesman Peskov, Russian forces now control the entire Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine, one of two regions that make up the Donbass region.
New Ukrainian casualties in Russian attacks
Meanwhile, authorities say many people have been killed in Russian attacks in Ukraine. In Sumy, in the north of the country, a roadside bomb killed four people and wounded about 30 others.
In addition, three people were reported killed in the Dnepropetrovsk region in southeastern Ukraine. There were also two victims of Russian attacks in the city of Zaporozhye, ARD also reported.