Ukraine and Russia Issue Conflicting Claims on Control of Kostiantynivka

Ukrainian officials and the General Staff stated on Saturday that their forces still control Kostiantynivka. Military units of the 19th Army Corps continue defensive operations inside the town and on its approaches. Russian military commanders told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that Moscow’s forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka.

Russia’s military said it was clearing remaining pockets of resistance, and a Russian Defence Ministry statement said clearing operations were coming to an end with troops setting up battle positions. The same statement said the Russian side is ready to hand over the bodies of deceased Ukrainian servicemen and proposed a six-hour ceasefire on Monday around Kostiantynivka, giving Ukraine until noon on Sunday to reply.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated on X that the Russian claim was false.

“Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story,” he wrote. “If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war,” he added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kostiantynivka was already part of Russia and repeated the invitation for the Ukrainian president to meet Putin in Moscow. Heavy fighting continued around Lyman. Kostiantynivka is the southernmost of four key settlements that form a defensive line in Ukraine’s effort to hold the Donetsk region.

Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.