up threatens Kostyantynivka, key to seizing Donbas

Key Points:

• Russian forces have infiltrated Kostyantynivka, a strategic city in eastern Ukraine, creating a "grey zone" with contested control and aiming to surround it, which threatens Ukraine's hold on the Donbas region.
• Capturing Kostyantynivka would enable Russian troops to advance toward key Ukrainian strongholds Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, moving closer to fully seizing Donbas, a primary Kremlin objective.
• Ukrainian officials acknowledge around 130 Russian soldiers remain inside the city, with ongoing intense urban combat where Russian troops advance slowly but steadily, using tactics to encircle and cut supply lines.
• Russian drone operations focus on destroying Ukrainian drone launch sites and providing cover for infantry assaults, while Ukrainian drone crews face resource limitations and exhaustion, complicating defense efforts.
• The battle for Kostyantynivka diverts attention from Ukraine's successful strikes on Russian oil refineries and supply routes, causing fuel shortages in Crimea and Russia, and increasing risks to Ukrainian positions in nearby areas.