Russia Claims Kostiantynivka Capture but Ukraine Says It Retains Control

Russia claimed the capture of Kostiantynivka last week. Gen. Valery Gerasimov delivered the news to President Vladimir Putin during a televised visit to a military command post. Putin praised the troops and called the seizure an important strategic achievement, The Washington Times reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry released footage of soldiers planting flags among ruined apartment blocks and stated its forces were clearing the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Putin of lying and invited the Russian leader to visit the city if he believed his commanders.

Ukraine’s 19th Army Corps stated that Kostiantynivka remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The corps published footage of Ukrainian servicemen at several locations in the city, with some landmarks geolocated inside Kostiantynivka by independent reporting. The Institute for the Study of War found no evidence that Russia had seized all of Kostiantynivka and described the announcement as part of an information campaign.

More than 100 Russian soldiers were already believed to be operating inside the city by early June, according to the 19th Army Corps.

A Ukrainian drone pilot in the area said infantry continues to operate in Kostiantynivka despite a difficult logistical situation. Russian forces advanced roughly 10 miles toward the city between August 2025 and early June 2026, an average of about 165 feet per day, the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported.

Russian commanders proposed a six-hour local ceasefire to collect bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.