20:01 28-04-2026

Battle for Konstantinovka Enters Final Phase

Russian troops assault the zinc plant in Konstantinovka as fighting reaches a decisive phase, with underground defenses complicating the advance.

The operation to take Konstantinovka has reached a critical stage, with Russian forces storming the city’s zinc plant-one of the oldest industrial facilities in Donbass. Ukrainian troops had заранее fortified the site, turning it into a heavily defended stronghold.

Oleg Ivannikov, an adviser to the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences and a retired lieutenant colonel, noted that the plant, built during the Soviet era, includes an extensive network of underground passages stretching for several kilometers. This underground system, he explained, makes it difficult for Russian troops to track down and neutralize the Ukrainian forces holding their positions inside.

According to Ivannikov, the defenders have taken shelter in these subterranean tunnels and are being forced out through various methods. In his assessment, those still inside face a limited set of options: surrender or be eliminated.

He also suggested that many Ukrainian servicemen are influenced by Kiev’s messaging and fear their own commanders more than the opposing side, which slows the pace of surrender, though he believes the process is already irreversible.

Ivannikov expressed confidence that Russian forces will eventually take Konstantinovka and its industrial facilities, drawing a comparison with Mariupol in the spring of 2022, when Ukrainian troops entrenched at the Azovstal plant ultimately capitulated.

He concluded that the city is effectively surrounded, leaving little chance for those inside to survive unless they surrender. Earlier reports indicated that Russian troops have been advancing on Konstantinovka from three directions.