Fighting reaches outskirts of Kostiantynivka, a Ukrainian stronghold

KYIV, May 2 (Reuters) – Russian troops are trying to establish a foothold near a heavily defended area towards the city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine’s top army official said on Saturday.

Kostiantynivka, together with other cities, forms the so-called fortress belt in the east of the country, an area well fortified by the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian chief of staff Oleksandr Syrskyi said in the Telegram application, “We are repelling the persistent attempts of the Russian invaders to establish a foothold on the outskirts of Kostiantynivka using infiltration tactics. Counter-sabotage measures are continuing in the city.” he said.

A Ukrainian battlefield mapping project called DeepState shows that Russian troops control an area just one kilometer (0.6 miles) from the city’s southern outskirts.

Small parts of Kostiantynivka in southeastern Ukraine are marked as a gray zone, meaning that neither Ukraine nor Russia has full control over them.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had taken control of ⁠Novodmytrivka, just north of Kostiantynivka. Moscow’s top general, Valery Gerasimov, said in April that troops were advancing north and south of the city.

Syrskyi said Russia’s attack attempts increased noticeably in April. He added that since Monday, Russian troops have carried out 83 attacks in this area using small infantry groups.

Moscow is demanding Ukraine withdraw from Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk regions, areas that Russia failed to capture during its four-year, full-scale war. U.S.-brokered peace talks stalled over the issue after Ukrainian officials said Kiev would not give up territory it still controls.

Over the last few years, Russian troops have failed to capture any major city in Ukraine, advancing slowly and announcing the capture of towns and villages.

The small city of Pokrovsk, from which most of its pre-war population of more than 60,000 fled, was Russia’s most important gain last year. It took months for Moscow’s troops to advance, and Kiev says there are still some positions in the city.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry said it had captured the village of Myropillia in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, where Moscow says it wants to establish a buffer zone.

But writing on Facebook, the Ukrainian army’s Kursk group rejected Russia’s report, calling it a “complete lie” and said its units controlled the area.

Also in Sumy, the regional governor said six people were injured, two seriously, in a Russian airstrike near the town of Krovelets.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Keith Weir, Ron Popeski and Ethan Smith)