After Capturing Konstantinovka, Russia's Eye on Donbas

July 4, 2026 - 18:54 | Last update July 4, 2026 - 18:54

Ukrainians manually remove debris after a church was hit by a Russian aerial bomb during a night attack on the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. (EPA)

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The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today (Saturday) full control of the city of Konstantinovka, stressing that it is one of the most important strategic cities in the Donbas region. It considered that its fall opens the way for the next phase of military operations in eastern Ukraine.

While no Ukrainian comment was issued regarding the control of the city, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Sergei Rudskoi said that Russian forces 'fully controlled the city', asserting that operations are still ongoing to pursue what he described as 'remnants of Ukrainian forces'. He added that Konstantinovka ranks seventh among Donbas cities in terms of area and population, and is a key to reaching the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The capture of Konstantinovka is part of a Russian strategy to dismantle the defensive belt that Kyiv built over more than 10 years in Donetsk.

After capturing cities such as Avdiivka and then Chasiv Yar, Konstantinovka became the next link in this defensive line, while the ultimate goal remains reaching Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the last two major cities under Kyiv's control in Donetsk.

Moscow describes these cities as the 'four fortresses' on which Ukraine built its defenses in the region, and therefore the fall of one of them means not just the loss of a city, but the collapse of part of the entire defensive system.

The strategic importance of the city lies in that it is less than 25 kilometers from Kramatorsk, which is the most important administrative and military center for Ukrainian forces in Donbas, and together with Sloviansk forms the command center for operations in the east.

Experts believe that if Russian forces manage to consolidate control over it and secure its surroundings, they will be able to exert direct military pressure on the two cities, either through ground advance or targeting supply lines.

Konstantinovka serves as a distribution center for ammunition, fuel, and reinforcements for Ukrainian forces along the Donetsk front, and also includes transportation and maintenance infrastructure that makes it a key hub in managing military operations.

If Moscow gains control of it, Kyiv will be forced to reorganize supply lines over longer distances, which could slow down the movement of reinforcements and increase pressure on troops deployed in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The battles resulted in the neutralization of about 13,500 Ukrainian soldiers, the destruction of 14 tanks, 8 rocket launchers, and more than 200 artillery pieces — figures that could not be verified from independent sources.

Russian Ministry of Defense Donbas Konstantinovka