Ukrainian soldiers say Russian forces have effectively cut off Kostiantynivka, the southernmost of four “fortress cities” in the eastern Donetsk region, raising fears that Moscow is regaining the offensive after months of slowing territorial gains.
“Things are very bad in Kostiantynivka. It’s not a question of whether we’ll lose it or not – we’ve effectively already lost it,” a soldier told the Ukrainian outlet Hromadske, as reported by Al Jazeera. A local Ukrainian commander said Russian units were moving into the villages of Molocharka and Izhevka north of the city, and his forces could find themselves surrounded in “another month or two” unless reinforcements arrived.
The reports come as Ukraine installs new leadership: Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii were both dismissed within a week, an unprecedented shakeup. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Kostiantynivka “the key to liberating the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”
Before his dismissal on July 21, Syrskii offered a more optimistic picture, estimating about 145 Russian infiltrators in the city who were suffering “significant losses” of roughly 25 people a day. A Ukrainian commander using the call sign Kurt told Suspilne that heavy fighting continues across the city and defenders still control most of it, though Russian KAB glide bombs, with payloads of 500 to 3,000 kilograms and dropped at rates above 200 and sometimes 300 a day, are taking a heavy toll.
Three weeks ago, the Institute for the Study of War estimated Russian forces had a presence in just 37 percent of Kostiantynivka, mostly as infiltrations rather than firm control. Its latest assessment suggests infiltration has spread to most of the city. Overall Russian advances have slowed sharply: the ISW estimated Moscow was capturing 16.6 square kilometers a day in the first half of 2025, about 1 kilometer a day in June 2026, and losing 1.6 square kilometers a day in July.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported 269 combat clashes over the past day, 45 of them on the Kostiantynivka front, the most intense sector, according to Ukrinform. Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said the number of enemy personnel involved in offensive operations had risen 12 percent in July compared with June and 18 percent compared with May.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said intelligence indicates Russia is preparing an “expanded mobilization” to offset losses of 225,000 troops this year against recruitment of 221,000, and that Putin aims to raise 300,000 to 500,000 new troops by early October, after September parliamentary elections. In the north, Russia claims to have captured 13 settlements in Kharkiv region this month, claims Ukraine denies and Al Jazeera could not independently verify. Euromaidan Press reported this week that Russian forces are bombing the city to rubble while pushing infantry into it on foot.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Ukrinform, Euromaidan Press