100+ Russian troops breach Kostyantynivka as commanders warn of possible city fall

Journalists suggested that the scenario earlier seen in Pokrovsk is repeating itself in Kostyantynivka, where Russian forces penetrate urban areas and attempt to slice the city into isolated sectors, leaving Ukrainian infantry at risk of encirclement.

Three Ukrainian commanders — at the company, battalion, and brigade levels — confirmed to the outlet that over a hundred Russian occupiers have entered the city. One officer believes the true figure could be closer to 250, noting that accurately counting the scattered enemy groups is exceptionally difficult.

"The enemy has wedged into the city center. This is no longer just infiltration — it is established enemy resistance," one of the sources told the publication.

Ukrainian Defense Forces are now eliminating fewer Russians than are entering the city because the enemy is attacking "with extreme intensity."

"Given how rapidly events are unfolding there, the problems will only multiply over time. Losing Kostyantynivka by the end of the summer is entirely realistic. The enemy is pressing very hard," another commander noted.

On June 11, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces recently achieved tactical gains in Kostyantynivka — one of the invaders' primary targets during their spring-summer offensive. Two Russian tactical groups, "Bakhmut" and "Dzerzhynsk" (Toretsk), advanced south of Kostyantynivka and into the eastern part of the city.

ISW experts earlier noted that the presence of Russian troops within Kostyantynivka does not indicate that Ukrainian Defense Forces are encircled in the central part of the town.

On June 2, analysts from the DeepState project reported that the Russian zone of infiltration inside Kostyantynivka was expanding, which could lead to the "inevitable absorption of the settlement." In particular, the southern and eastern sectors of the city are under intense pressure, while the capture of Illinivka and Novodmytrivka directly threatens Kostyantynivka's northern flank.