Posted on 07/04/2026 9:13:20 AM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Ukraine still controls the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the General Staff said on Saturday, rejecting Russian claims that it has been captured.
Russia's military told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka, a target that Moscow has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region.
"Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story," Zelenskiy said on X.
"If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war," he added.
The General Staff also said Kostiantynivka remained under the control of Ukrainian forces.
"Military units and subunits of the 19th Army Corps of the Eastern Grouping continue to conduct defensive operations on designated lines within the town and on its approaches," it said in a statement.
Kostiantynivka is the southernmost of four key settlements that form a defensive line central to Ukraine's effort to hold the heavily industrialised Donetsk region.
Analysts say capturing the city would give Russian forces a foothold from which to push north along the defensive belt, now the main axis of their campaign.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Russian forces reached the outskirts of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region, a key stronghold in the eastern fortress belt, as gains elsewhere on the front have stalled https://t.co/JC9DXAOWqm pic.twitter.com/Al9q92sPZv— Reuters (@Reuters) July 1, 2026
What is your deal? If it isn’t The Guardian it’s the leftist a-holes at Reuters.
Quit harassing posters.
He has some decent maps: https://www.youtube.com/@warmaps78
Croatia based.
Who knows if there is someone behind him pulling the strings.
(IMHO - what I think):
Ukraine lost this war after the failed counter offensive. That was their last realistic chance.
From that point on, it’s a war of attrition with Russian having the numbers.
Ukraine sells this war, hard. Plus you have our MSM strongly biased in Ukraine’s favor, mass censorship (Russia is heavily muted), Google ranking things in favor of a certain narrative (that includes YouTube), our social media is on board, the EU and their state run media is on board, NATO of course is on board... So you get flooded with a one sided pro-Ukraine message, but what you’re really getting today is a “chrome plated turd.”
The Russians are merely keeping the pressure on. Keep pushing just enough to where Ukraine cannot amass a large force with which they can launch a viable offense that can take and hold ground.
The FEBA between Ukraine and Russia is vast (1,200 Km or 745 miles). Russia is continually looking for a relatively weaker spot and then pushing there. Today here, tomorrow there sort of thing. Small advances that achieve two things:
1.) The longer the war ranges on, the worse position Ukraine is in.
2.) Deny Ukraine the ability to build up forces for a large scale offensive, example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Ukrainian_counteroffensive
Additional points regards this war:
3.) Russia knew this would be a “long war” early on (not what they wanted, but they realized that was going to happen), that this won’t be a 2014 repeat. They started a troop rotation schedule fairly early on (before Ukraine, but Ukraine is hard up and simply couldn’t do that out of manning issues). Russia put an economist in charge of the war: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrey_Belousov They immediately began ramping up key production needed for an extended campaign, BUT only partially mobilized the population and economy for war since doing that long term crushes the economy of a nation (~7.5% GDP on war).
4.) Russia “did” take a beating in the initial opening of this war. Years of training, planning, our tech in mass, intel, was effective for the Ukraine. I think the Russians achieved most of their goals despite taking heavy losses initially: Seize the Eastern ethnic Russian areas, block NATO accession. That said, they are keeping the pressure on, but risk and casualty averse today.
Ukraine cannot realistically protect a frontage that large (745 miles). But Russia has a hard time creating the needed concentration along the FEBA without being detected or even being blasted while staging. In today’s world, with ground based sensors, space based sensors, drones, SIGNIT, both the performance and proliferation of these capabilities, the ability to disseminate information quickly, make hiding and building up a large force difficult.
I don’t think a “Battle of the Bulge” type scenario where we were caught off guard by a large German force is realistic today. Plus, I think the modern ATGM and it’s effectiveness, combined with drones, have basically thrown “modern warfare” back to the end of the Civil war or WWI, into trenches. The armored and mechanized force trying to conduct “maneuver warfare” gets mauled against a modern threat armed with these weapon systems. That is just as true for the Russians, as it is for the Ukrainians, but also us. Our M1 and Bradley, the German Leo, British Challenger, didn’t do all that great.
So it’s just a slow grid where Russia is creeping forward. Which of course our non-propagandist MSM will brief as failure (it’s all just how you spin it).
Nearly every source has a bias, in fact YOU have a bias.
Yet, they often point out facts. Often contained in their three pages of opinion and speculation which alkways frame their agenda in a positive way, is a small factual nugget of information.
That is even true for Al Jazzier, the NYTs, etc.
You just have to peel that little piece of actual information out of the BS that surrounds it.
Zelensky believes that he can replace manpower with drones. Time will tell if that is a suitable strategy.
If you think that is harassment you better find a better safe space to hide in.
You are starting out with a reasoned argument and it is starting to get interesting but then you stick in FEBA. I stopped reading at that point. I have to go searching for what the hell FEBA means. No thanks.
That’s why I disregard pro Ukraine sources. What the Russians say is still true a month later, not so much the Ukrainians.
Zelensky believes that he can replace manpower with drones. Time will tell if that is a suitable strategy.
*************************
It doesn’t matter what Zelensky does with manpower or drones because neither strategy will get his lost territory back.
1) He doesn’t have enough men willing to fight for this war, which shows with all the people that left Ukraine.
2) Drones can’t conquer or control squat, they’re being used on Russian infrastructure and as terror weapons, but won’t change the current facts on the ground.
The Military summary channel shows video of Russian soldiers raising Russian flags in every corner of Konstantinivka. It is all geo-located. There is no doubt at all that Russia has captured the city. You have to be an idiot to believe anything that Zelinsky says. There is a G-7 meeting going on and Z does not want the truth to spoil his party.
Kostiantynivka Has fallen, only two cities left to fall till Vlad liberates the Russian Donbass. Anyone who believes Zelensky ( or western MSM) is deluded.
Do remember the lying little man in green denied when Mariupol fell, Bakmut fell, Avidivka fell. Do realize Kharkov is now being evacuated, Vlad is advancing across the entire front.
When Vlad fully secures Donetsk province his stated goals of liberating the ethnic Russian provinces will have been meet. He should go on to liberate Odessa, (the city Catherine the Great established) if St Z doesn’t start negotiations.
one of these might work:
Far Eastern Broadcasting Associates
European Food Banks Federation
Forward Edge of Battle Area
I suspect shortish-range drones are currently a key element of Ukraine’s front line. But they need several factors to make that work, such as:
1. more and better drones than your opponent
2. somewhere, close enough to the forward edge/grey zone for your drone operators to hide
3. suitable flying weather
FEBA = FORWARD EDGE of the BATTLE AREA.
“Kostiantynivka Has fallen”
AI Overview
Kostiantynivka has not entirely fallen, though it remains heavily contested and the situation is critical. While Russian forces claimed the full capture of the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian military staff officially rejected this claim, stating that fierce urban fighting is ongoing
“Vlad is advancing across the entire front.”
Russia’s advance collapses in Ukraine, ‘40,000’ troops killed in June
“Do remember the lying little man in green denied when Mariupol fell,”
In 2022 Russia took about 20% of Ukraine. Since then they lost about a third of that back to Ukraine.
Putinistas referred to it as a strategic withdrawal.
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