Russia said it had "completely captured" Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysts said in their 3 July 2026 assessment that such claims were timed to coincide with the US Independence Day.
Russian forces have achieved tactical successes in Kostiantynivka in recent weeks, but the bulk of the Russian presence in the city consists of small groups of saboteurs interspersed among Ukrainian positions, the experts explain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy directly refuted the claim, saying Putin "decided to lie to the world and the President of America about the situation at the front" on the eve of US Independence Day.
Ukrainian military sources reported that as of mid-June, there were between 100 and 250 Russian soldiers in Kostiantynivka, and as of 23 June, there were more Ukrainian soldiers in the city than Russian ones.
What ISW actually found in Kostiantynivka
Ukrainian and independent Western assessments have consistently framed Kostiantynivka's status as contested but not captured.
The city is not encircled, three Ukrainian soldiers said in June, but the situation is "significantly more complex" than Ukrainian command officially states, with the city effectively reduced to a continuous "gray zone" where neither side has full control.
As of ISW's most recent June assessments, Russian forces controlled or infiltrated roughly 37% of Kostiantynivka, having taken 77% of all Russian June gains across the entire front in that single city.
That is contested infiltration, not the "complete capture" Putin claimed.
Putin's 3 July meeting — timed for US 4 July, ISW says
Russian propaganda released footage on 3 July showing Putin meeting with senior commanders in the late evening.
Zelenskyy responded directly and publicly.
"Now, on the eve of America's Independence Day, Putin decided to lie to the world and the President of America about the situation at the front ... Of course, this is not true — it's just another Russian lie to generate at least some news," Zelenskyy said.
He added a specific challenge that of Kostiantynivka is now under Russian control, then Putin probably would have no problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war.
"But still, he will not cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin's words," he said.
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