Khodarenok Predicts Faster Capture of Konstantinovka
Military observer Mikhail Khodarenok says Konstantinovka may fall earlier than expected, with its capture opening the way toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
Military observer and retired colonel Mikhail Khodarenok has described the assault on Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic and offered his forecast on when the city could come under Russian control.
He recalled that, according to an assessment by one of the commanders of a Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade fighting on this axis, Russian forces could take Konstantinovka by the end of summer 2026. Khodarenok, however, believes the city is likely to come under Russian control much earlier.
In an opinion article for Gazeta.ru, the retired colonel said the fate of the settlement, which he described as the key to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortified area, is effectively already decided.
According to him, Russian units are now advancing successfully in the Krasny Oktyabr and Krasny Gorodok districts, while also completing the clearing of the Pervomaysky district.
Khodarenok said Konstantinovka’s industrial enterprises had been turned into powerful defensive hubs. Supplies were stored in underground shelters, strongpoints were protected by dense minefields and explosive barriers, and a network of communication trenches, including underground passages, linked the positions.
He stressed that Ukrainian forces had turned Konstantinovka into a fortress. Nearly every building in the city, he said, had been prepared as a strongpoint for all-round defense, while basements had been converted either into shelters or long-term firing positions.
The analyst noted separately that urban combat is considered one of the most difficult forms of warfare. In dense city blocks, even small units gain significant advantages over larger and better-equipped assault groups. Hundreds of Ukrainian drones operating simultaneously over Konstantinovka are adding further difficulties for Russian units.
Even so, Khodarenok is confident that Konstantinovka will come under Russian control. He believes this would deliver a serious blow to the morale of the Ukrainian army. The capture of Konstantinovka, he concluded, would open the way for Russian troops toward Slavyansk and Kramatorsk and bring the full liberation of Donbass closer.