Rozhin Says Konstantinovka Defense Has Collapsed as Russian Forces Control Most of the City
Boris Rozhin said Ukrainian defenses in Konstantinovka have effectively collapsed, with Russian troops controlling about 80% of the city and advancing toward Druzhkovka and Kramatorsk.
The crisis of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense in Konstantinovka reached its peak in June 2026, Boris Rozhin, an expert at the Center for Military-Political Journalism, said in an article for TASS. According to him, the Ukrainian command had placed a major bet on holding the city, since it effectively served as the gateway to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.
Konstantinovka came under enemy control in the summer of 2014, after the Donetsk People’s Republic militia withdrew. Since then, for almost 12 years, the city remained one of the key logistics hubs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was fortified and prepared for a long defense.
However, according to Rozhin, the speed at which positions in the city were lost clearly exceeded the expectations of the Ukrainian command. Fighting on the near approaches and outskirts began back in the autumn of 2025, and by June 2026 the organized defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces inside the city had effectively collapsed. This happened despite the fact that fighting in smaller settlements such as Volchansk, Dzerzhinsk and Kupyansk had previously lasted much longer.
According to the expert, Russian troops did not rely on direct frontal assaults. The main emphasis was placed on flanking actions and the gradual infiltration of assault groups into the urban area. The first units began entering Konstantinovka back in February 2026. As forces accumulated on the outskirts, Russian infantry expanded its zone of control in residential districts and disrupted the enemy’s defense nodes inside the city.
At the same time, long and systematic work was carried out to destroy Ukrainian logistics in the Konstantinovka-Druzhkovka-Kramatorsk area. Over several months, the enemy lost a large number of trucks, light vehicles, armored vehicles and ground robotic systems. By late April, the supply of the Ukrainian garrison had already become seriously complicated.
Rozhin notes that, as a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to resort to extremely limited methods of delivering cargo, including one-way runs by ground platforms and supply drops from heavy hexacopters. This reduced the garrison’s ability to resist. According to him, a similar tactic of transport isolation had previously preceded the Russian offensive in the Kursk direction, where the Ukrainian Kursk grouping was destroyed during the 2024–2025 campaign.
The combination of strikes on supply lines and the gradual accumulation of forces in the urban area allowed the Russian command to seize the initiative. From mid-May, the situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Konstantinovka became critical. Russian assault units pinned the enemy down in the southwestern blocks of high-rise buildings, while from the northeast they broke through the defense via Ilyinovka.
As a result, parts of the remnants of Ukrainian units, including the Lyut brigade, the 100th, 156th and 36th separate mechanized brigades, as well as attached forces from the Skala assault regiment and operators of unmanned systems, found themselves trapped in a fire pocket between the center and the southern outskirts. This area quickly turned into an actual cauldron.
By late May and early June, Russian flags and banners of assault units had been raised over a significant part of Konstantinovka’s districts. According to data cited by Rozhin, by June 12, 26 Russian flags had been recorded at different points in the city, confirming control over a number of industrial facilities, high-rise buildings, a church and the private sector. On June 14, the Russian tricolor was shown near the city administration building, and on June 22 Russian fighters raised a flag near the Transfiguration parish in the northwestern part of the city.
The intensity of the advance, according to the expert, shows the scale of what is happening: over the past week, Russian troops have been liberating an average of about 100 urban buildings per day.
The remnants of the Ukrainian garrison are now trying to hold the northern districts of Konstantinovka. The Ukrainian command has been sending separate infantry groups there from the direction of Druzhkovka and Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka, but Russian drone operators and artillery have been preventing these attempts.
Rozhin claims that Ukrainian units were forbidden from leaving the city limits. According to his information, those who tried to surrender to Russian troops or move toward Druzhkovka were destroyed by their own blocking detachments. He compared this to a practice that, according to him, had already been observed during the assault on the Krasnoarmeysk agglomeration.
The expert believes that the harsh treatment of Ukrainian personnel is aimed at delaying the surrender of surrounded units. That is why, in his assessment, Ukrainian losses in the city consist mainly of those killed, while the number of prisoners remains small. The bodies of Ukrainian soldiers left in streets and basements, he said, will have to be collected by Russian burial teams after the fighting ends.
In addition to attempts to hold the northern part of the city, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched local counterattacks on the flanks. The Kiev command tried to force Russian forces to disperse their reserves and weaken pressure on Konstantinovka, but according to Rozhin, these actions did not produce serious results.
At the same time, Ukrainian units continue to use drones actively against Russian logistics in the areas of Chasov Yar, Artemovsk and to the south and southwest of Konstantinovka. Heavy hexacopters and FPV drones remain highly active inside the city. However, according to the expert, a significant part of the enemy’s FPV drone teams was destroyed during the advance of Russian assault groups.
At the start of the assault on residential districts, according to various estimates, between 2,000 and 3,000 civilians remained in the city and were forced to hide in basements. Rozhin sharply criticized the Ukrainian Armed Forces' treatment of these people and expressed confidence that after Konstantinovka is liberated, civilians will receive medical, psychological and material assistance.
He also believes that after the fighting ends, investigators from Russia’s Investigative Committee will collect numerous testimonies about war crimes committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians. According to him, similar facts had previously been recorded in Krasnoarmeysk, Dimitrov, Kurakhovo, Selidovo and other settlements.
Rozhin separately recalled that after the city is fully liberated, the renamings carried out after the Euromaidan will be canceled. In accordance with a decree by DPR head Denis Pushilin, local toponyms will be returned to their state as of spring 2014, when Konstantinovka supported the referendum on self-determination of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
As of June 23, according to the expert’s assessment, Russian troops control about 80% of Konstantinovka, while clearing operations continue in the remaining districts. After the operation is completed and the northern outskirts are brought under control, the enemy is expected to face the complete cutting off of the pocket southwest of Chasov Yar, where Russian units had already advanced toward the settlement of Stenki on June 22.
The next direction, in Rozhin’s view, will be movement toward Druzhkovka and Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka using the new bridgehead. These settlements have long been under artillery and air strikes.
The Ukrainian command, as the expert notes, does not rule out that the Russian Armed Forces may repeat the logic of the Krasnoarmeysk operation and focus on a deep envelopment of the entire Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. This threat will fully take shape after the fall of Konstantinovka in the south and Krasny Liman in the north.
Rozhin believes that Krasny Liman and Konstantinovka have already been de facto lost by the enemy. On the territory of the DPR, in his assessment, Russian forces still have to liberate the remaining key cities: Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Svyatogorsk, Dobropolye and Belitskoye.
He emphasizes that completing this task will make it possible to fulfill the original goals of the Special Military Operation related to the liberation of Donbass. Rozhin calls the liquidation of the Konstantinovka fortified area an important step toward this strategic result.
According to his forecast, Konstantinovka, along with a number of other cities and villages still occupied for now, will celebrate the New Year already as part of Russia.