The Kremlin has officially claimed the complete capture of
the strategic front-line industrial city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's eastern
Donetsk region. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that the stronghold
has been "completely taken". Russian President Vladimir Putin met
with top military commanders to receive reports on the operation.
The Strategic Importance of Kostiantynivka
Kostiantynivka has long served as a key anchor of Ukraine's
defensive "Fortress Belt" in the Donbas region.
• The Target:
It is a massive industrial center and critical transportation hub.
• Operational Shift: Bringing Kostiantynivka
under Russian administration moves Moscow closer to its goal of controlling the
entire Donetsk region.
• The
Remaining Belt: With Kostiantynivka compromised, the final major fortified
cities protecting the rest of Ukrainian-controlled Donetsk are Sloviansk,
Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka.
“Its capture would expand Russia's control in the Donetsk
region.
According to official accounts, Kremlin leader Vladimir
Putin has celebrated the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of
Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region by his troops. Putin was quoted by his
spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, as saying the industrial city was taken at the cost
of heavy losses for the Ukrainian defenders. That same evening, Putin
reportedly ordered the immediate evacuation of all civilians remaining in
Kostiantynivka.
There was no comment from the Ukrainian side regarding the
reports of victory from Moscow. Ukrainian military officials had previously
acknowledged a difficult situation in the already heavily destroyed city. In
its evening situation report, the Ukrainian General Staff in Kyiv spoke only of
heavy fighting around Kostiantynivka.
Putin would
thus be moving closer to his goal of bringing the entire Donbas under Russian
administration.
Of the major cities in the Donetsk region, only Sloviansk,
Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka would then remain under Ukrainian control.”
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