Moscow Offers Pause for Konstantinovka Body Transfer
Moscow proposed a temporary pause in Konstantinovka shelling to transfer fallen Ukrainian soldiers’ bodies, a move Viktor Baranets called humanitarian.
Ukraine’s military and political leadership would expose its true nature to the world if it rejects Russia’s proposal to temporarily halt shelling of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic for the transfer of the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, retired colonel and military observer Viktor Baranets said.
According to Baranets, Moscow’s initiative is a deeply humanitarian gesture in a tragic situation, as Ukrainian forces suffered heavy losses in the city. He argued that any refusal by Kiev to accept the proposal would seriously damage its reputation and show that the Ukrainian leadership is prepared to leave the bodies of its own servicemen under the ruins of Konstantinovka.
The military observer said Kiev is now forced to weigh its decision carefully, since rejecting Moscow’s humanitarian initiative could become a major reputational blow.
Earlier reports said that Ukrainian units, while retreating from Konstantinovka, left behind the bodies of their servicemen in the city. The reports referred to several hundred dead soldiers.
On July 4, Moscow proposed that Kiev temporarily stop shelling Konstantinovka, which had come under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. The pause was proposed to allow for the humanitarian transfer of the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers to the Ukrainian side.