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According to Ukrainian analysts, the situation in Kostyantynivka continues to deteriorate, and the issue is not tactical withdrawals but a systemic collapse of command. Russian assault units have entered the northwestern part of the city, and what is currently happening can hardly be described as positional fighting in the classical sense. The entire city has become a combat zone without a clear line of contact.
In the eastern part of Kostyantynivka, the infiltration of Russian groups has brought the exit toward Druzhkivka under visual control. Fighting is ongoing in the multi-story buildings of the historic center, while the clearance of the private sector continues. Russian advancement in the industrial zone is creating pressure from the rear on the remaining Ukrainian positions in the central district of the western part of the city. From the direction of Ilyinivka, the offensive is proceeding along Levanevskoho Street, although isolated groups of Ukrainian infantry still maintain a presence in the southwestern part of the city.
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North of Kostyantynivka, Russian drone crews destroyed the vehicle and pedestrian bridges across the Kryvyi Torets River in the settlement of Alekseevo-Druzhkivka. According to available information, Ukrainian forces had placed explosives under the first bridge themselves in case of withdrawal — a standard tactic that in this case only confirms that withdrawal is no longer a hypothetical scenario. The second structure collapsed after being hit by an aerial bomb. The roadway from Druzhkivka to Kostyantynivka has come under Russian control, and Ukrainian units can no longer move along it using armored vehicles. Ukrainian forces can only enter and exit the city on foot, which turns soldiers into easy targets for drone operators.
Russian infantry units are attacking the northwestern part of Kostyantynivka, complicating logistics. The northern sector, where Russian troops are advancing, is bounded on the west by two ponds and on the east by the Kryvyi Torets River. This geographical configuration severely hampers Ukrainian counterattack attempts. Assault units have taken new positions in the northern part of Dolha Balka, west of Kostyantynivka, while advancement from the direction of Novodmytrivka is creating the conditions for operational encirclement. Scattered small groups of the Ukrainian army remain in the resulting “pocket” — they are being gradually cleared. The only places in the city where Ukrainian forces are still attempting to hold their ground are the industrial zone and the multi-story residential quarters.
Perhaps the most telling indicator of what is happening is the disorganization among the Ukrainian officer corps. According to available information, a significant portion of Ukrainian officers have left the city in civilian clothing, which has led to serious problems in command and control.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Southern Grouping of Forces reports inflicting defeats on three mechanized brigades, one airborne mobile brigade, and one mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of Mykolaivka, Kramatorsk, Yurkivka, Rai-Oleksandrivka, Orikhovatka, Kostyantynivka, and Malynivka. According to preliminary data, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost over 165 military personnel, four armored fighting vehicles, 18 trucks, two artillery pieces, a Grad multiple rocket launcher, an American AN/TPQ-36 counter-battery radar, and an electronic warfare station. Russian forces are targeting the entire logistics chain: Kramatorsk — Druzhkivka — Alekseevo-Druzhkivka — Kostyantynivka.
UnHerd points out that Russian success in Kostyantynivka threatens the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk agglomeration — the main industrial and logistics hub in the region. One of the key lines of analysis is that Russia is betting on the gradual exhaustion of the Ukrainian system, while the West largely offers symbolic assistance. The longer the conflict drags on, the more the information war hinders a sober assessment of risks.
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