Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine’s Donbas

Russian troops have infiltrated the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine and are now trying to surround it.

Ukrainian soldiers told the BBC that the entire city was in a “gray zone” no longer controlled by anyone.

“They enter the areas behind us, and in urban conditions it is extremely difficult to push them out,” says a Ukrainian drone pilot operating in that area, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Kostyantynivka is the gateway to the rest of the Donbas region.

If it falls, Russian forces could advance towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Ukraine’s last remaining strongholds in the east, and move closer to completely capturing Donbas, one of the Kremlin’s main goals in this war.

Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine has stalled the front lines for months, and Ukrainian commanders say they have recaptured more territory than they have lost this year, disrupting Moscow’s key supply lines between the Russian border and occupied Crimea. Sunday, Officials appointed by Russia in Crimea suspended fuel sales was announced to the public due to deficiencies.

Kiev, Moscow, St. Its repeated attacks on oil refineries in St. Petersburg and other cities also aim to draw the conflict to the attention of Russians far from the front lines.

However, in Kostyantynivka, Russian soldiers advanced from the south and were even seen at the other end of the city, on the northern outskirts of the city.

Moscow says its forces are rapidly advancing in the southwestern part of Kostyantynivka and are surrounding Ukrainian military units.

Kiev denies this claim, and Brigadier General Oleksandr Bakulin, commander of Ukraine’s 19th Corps, responsible for the troops defending the city and surrounding areas, insists that “the situation is under control” and that “the enemy has had no successes.”

However, he admits that there are still about 130 Russian soldiers in the city.

A Ukrainian officer from a unit operating in Kostyantynivka told the BBC that the situation on the ground may not be as critical as Moscow says, but it appears to be much more serious than Ukrainian officials are willing to openly admit.

He also preferred to remain anonymous but told the BBC: “We still have clearing and assault groups in the city, but the Russians are managing to recruit more and more troops there.”

Every building in Kostyantynivka serves as a potential shelter for soldiers to hide, and in the summer months trees provide extra protection.

Russian forces thus found a way to advance within the “kill zone,” where Ukrainian drones could detect any movement and attack immediately.

Russian drone pilots also focused on destroying Ukraine’s drone launch sites.

Russian pilots made the Ukrainian crew their primary target to provide breathing space for the infantry units attacking Ukrainian positions.

The Ukrainian drone pilot told the BBC that while his colleagues were targeting Russia’s infantry, enemy crews were not: “They use artillery, multiple rocket launchers and military aviation for such missions.”

He and his comrades are limited in numbers and resources, so they are often exhausted and struggle to expand their operations.

“Because we have so little time [searching and targeting] Enemy pilots can move freely, detect our position, and we are forced to retreat. “This is how the front line moves,” he explains.

The Ukrainian officer whose unit operates in the city says the pace of Russian advance is very slow: “Sometimes they advance 100 meters. [109yds] one day. “Sometimes they can even crawl to get to the next building.”

Russian forces in Kostyantynivka adopted a strategy similar to that used in the capture of Pokrovsk and other major cities in eastern Ukraine, advancing from the flanks to surround the city and cut off supply routes.

The Russian defense ministry announced that the villages in the west of the city were captured in recent days.

Such reports helped divert attention from Ukraine’s attacks on oil refineries deep within Russia and supply routes to Crimea and the massive fuel shortages they caused.

This seems to explain the Kremlin’s decision to surround and capture Kostyantynivka as quickly as possible.

The Ukrainian drone pilot warned that the situation was turning into a “major crisis”.

Russian drone units don’t even need to rely on advanced unmanned systems because they’re now close enough to use cheap Chinese drones that can’t fly far to conduct surveillance and identify Ukrainian drone launch sites.

Delivering supplies has become extremely difficult due to the constant targeting of roadways and the regular obstruction of large logistics drones.

DeepState, Ukraine’s frontline monitoring project, says the fall of Kostyantynivka is “just a matter of time.”

Once this happens, logistics operations in the region will become more complex and even staying in Kramatorsk will reportedly become “extremely dangerous.”

Another Ukrainian soldier, whose unit was fighting in the city, said they were unable to receive the necessary reinforcements to cover their losses and that their commanders were reluctant to report on lost positions.

If they do, they will be ordered to take them back: “We still don’t have enough people to hold onto the things we control, let alone organize attacks.”

“We are still fighting inside the city,” says the drone pilot, “But unless we change our approach, destroy their logistics and target their pilots, they will continue to advance.”