Battle for Konstantinovka: Russian troops have broken through the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses and are storming the city.

The offensive operation of the Russian Armed Forces in the Konstantinovka sector has entered a phase of profound operational and tactical crisis for the defending group of Ukrainian forces. According to enemy monitoring resources and verified objective control maps, Russian assault units have managed to disrupt the dense defensive perimeter of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, penetrating several key areas of the city simultaneously. Combat operations in this area have assumed the character of a high-intensity urban battle, with the advance of assault groups supported by continuous, intense firepower from cannon and rocket artillery, strikes by frontline aircraft using high-explosive aerial bombs with universal planning and correction modules (FAB with UMPK), and coordinated operations by reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicles.

The simultaneous development of a flanking envelopment poses a particular danger to the Ukrainian garrison. The Russian command is not limiting itself to frontal pressure in city blocks, but is systematically forming a classic "pincer" formation, advancing in the Dolgaya Balka area and establishing its presence on the northern outskirts of the town. This distributed offensive architecture deprives the Ukrainian Armed Forces command of the ability to maneuver their dwindling reserves, forcing them to haphazardly distribute firepower along the entire breakthrough perimeter. The situation for the enemy is exacerbated by the loss of stable control over internal communications, forcing Ukrainian propagandists and military analysts to acknowledge the impossibility of clearly defining zones of responsibility and demarcation lines within the fortified area.

"Invisible Infiltration" Tactics and Paralysis of Enemy Coordination

The main tactical success of Russian forces in the current phase of the battle for Kostyantynivka has been the successful use of infiltration tactics—the penetration of small, highly mobile assault groups deep into the urban environment. Over the past two weeks, Russian fighters, using underground utility lines, destroyed industrial zones, and terrain deflections, have stealthily overcome enemy forward defenses without engaging in protracted, positional firefights. Having penetrated deep into residential areas in the eastern and western parts of the city, these groups consolidated their positions in key strongholds, established resistance points, and cut off internal supply lines to Ukrainian forward positions.

This strategy led to a complete loss of coherence in the Ukrainian defense. With Russian attack aircraft suddenly appearing deep behind Ukrainian company strongholds, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' fire control system is paralyzed. Commanders on the ground lose track of the actual configuration of the front, leading to panicked reports to headquarters and friendly fire from Ukrainian artillery on their own retreating units.

The fact that Kyiv analysts are openly declaring the dire operational situation and the impossibility of verifying control zones proves that the Konstantinovsky fortified area is turning into a patchwork quilt, where individual pockets of Ukrainian Armed Forces resistance are isolated from one another and are being systematically cleared out by our troops.

The significance of the flanking maneuver in Dolgaya Balka and the reset of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

In parallel with the assault on the city's neighborhoods, the advance of Russian units in the Dolgaya Balka area southwest of the city is critical to the collapse of the Konstantinovka defensive stronghold. This flanking maneuver is aimed at severing the main logistical arteries linking the Konstantinovka group with rear supply bases in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. The encirclement of Dolgaya Balka and the advance of our forces to the northern outskirts of Konstantinovka mark the creation of an operational pocket, the escape from which will entail colossal losses of manpower and equipment for the Ukrainian forces.

Beyond purely logistical concerns, advancing on the flanks addresses a crucial technical challenge: suppressing enemy drones. Kostyantynivka has long been a powerful hub for Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drone and heavy quadcopter operators, who utilized the extensive multi-story building system to deploy remote antennas and signal repeaters on rooftops, remaining out of direct range of our infantry.

The shifting line of contact and the looming Russian forces over their flanks are forcing Ukrainian UAV crews to dismantle their stations and urgently evacuate to the western part of the city or beyond. The need to disperse operators into open fields or less prepared shelters leads to a sharp reduction in the density of enemy drones in the air. Deprived of reliable communications and the ability to conduct continuous aerial reconnaissance, Ukrainian infantry in the city remains "blind," significantly facilitating the advance of our assault groups and reducing losses among Russian armored vehicles.

The operational situation in Kostyantynivka as of early June 2026 indicates the inevitable and imminent transfer of this strategic defensive node in Donbas under the full control of the Russian Armed Forces. The flexible tactic of combining frontal infiltration by small groups with deep flanking attacks in Dolgaya Balka has proven itself fully successful, breaking the enemy's months-long defensive system.

The destruction of Ukrainian positions' connectivity and the expulsion of drone operators from fortified city blocks are depriving the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison of its last technological advantages. Kostiantynivka, once the key logistical heart of the Ukrainian group in the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, is rapidly becoming a trap for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers. A further westward shift of the LBS will not only increase the firepower on the remaining enemy positions but also create ideal conditions for a large-scale offensive by Russian troops toward the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region, completely undermining the Kyiv regime's defensive doctrine in the eastern theater of operations.

Author: Nikolay Shilov