Russia’s inching advance in Ukraine approaches eastern fortress belt
Kostiantynivka, along with other cities in eastern Ukraine, forms part of a so-called fortress belt well-fortified against Russian attack
Russian troops are inching towards the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, trying to establish a foothold close to a heavily defended area, Ukraine’s top army official said on Saturday.
Kostiantynivka, along with other cities, forms a so-called fortress belt in the country’s east – an area well-fortified by the Ukrainian military.
“We are repelling the Russian occupiers’ persistent attempts to gain a foothold in the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are going on in the city,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s army chief, said in an announcement on social media.
A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project called DeepState shows Russian troops control an area roughly one kilometre (0.6 mile) from the city’s southern outskirts.
Small chunks of Kostiantynivka in the southeast are marked as a grey zone, meaning neither Ukraine nor Russia has full control over them.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday its forces had taken control of Novodmytrivka, just north of Kostiantynivka. Moscow’s top general Valery Gerasimov said in April that troops were advancing in the north and south of the city.