Defense on the Eastern Front! Ukrainian combat units are finding it increasingly difficult to hold off the enemy

Ukrainian troops are defending Konstantinovka in the Donetsk region under difficult conditions. This town is located right in the path of Russia's summer offensive, which makes its defense a very important task, writes The New York Times, quoted by Focus.

Why is Konstantinovka important?

The Ukrainian military told journalists that Konstantinovka is the southern gateway to a chain of towns that form the last major defensive belt in the Donetsk region. According to them, if the Russians occupy Konstantinovka, almost all cities located further north will be within range of enemy drones, which will bring the Russian Federation closer to the complete capture of the region.

The publication emphasizes that the Russians have created a 16-kilometer zone around the Ukrainian troops defending Konstantinovka, partially surrounding them from the east, south and west. In a conversation with journalists, Ukrainian soldiers and officers said that almost every movement in this zone is monitored around the clock by Russian drones. The defense forces remain in a difficult situation without rotation or the possibility of evacuating the wounded.

"It is very difficult to deliver supplies, to rotate troops – to do anything at all“, an officer from the 12th special brigade "Azov“ told journalists with the call sign "Makas“.

Russia is constantly attacking Konstantinovka

It is noted that Ukraine is preparing for the enemy's request to launch a large-scale offensive against Konstantinovka. This battle could drag on for months. However, it is not yet known whether this will be a frontal attack, as in Bakhmut in 2023, or an attempt to close the ring with a pincer maneuver to force the Ukrainians to retreat.

In a conversation with journalists, the Ukrainian military admitted that the Russians have an advantage due to the expansion of the capabilities of striking with the help of drones.

"Previously, they could hit targets at a distance of two to three kilometers. Now they strike every 10-20 minutes at a constant distance of 15 kilometers from the front line. "Everything in this 15-kilometer zone has been destroyed," the commander of the unmanned systems division of the 93rd separate brigade "Kholodny Yar" named after Alexander told journalists.

According to the Ukrainian military, the activity of the elite Russian unmanned aerial vehicle unit "Rubikon" was the turning point in the Russian offensive in the summer. The publication recalls that in 2025 in the Kursk region this unit helped repel the offensive of Ukrainian troops, cutting off their main supply route with the help of continuous drone strikes. In the spring, he was transferred to the Konstantinovka district.

"The situation changed when they arrived here", American volunteer Rebecca Maciorovsky, who heads the medical unit of the battalion of the 53rd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine, told reporters.

The Ukrainian military noted that Russian strikes in the vicinity of Konstantinovka are so constant that they do not even come out of the underground shelters.

"We joke that going to the toilet is now almost a heroic act", a Ukrainian serviceman named Mykola added to reporters.

Evacuating the residents of Konstantinovka is a very difficult task

The publication emphasizes that in June the residents of Konstantinovka were called to evacuate due to the threat of a Russian invasion. However, Russian dominance of the airspace is making it increasingly difficult to evacuate the several thousand civilians still in the city.