Skelya Assault Regiment confirms capture of its soldiers in Kostyantynivka - video

The statement followed the circulation of Russian propaganda videos showing captured soldiers who earlier raised the national flag.

"The 425th Separate Assault Regiment Skelya is aware of the information disseminated by Russian resources regarding the capture of our soldiers," the regiment's official statement read.

"Efforts are underway to establish all the circumstances of the incident. We cannot disclose the operational details of the mission within the town."

Commanders assured that the unit will facilitate all protocols to ensure the rapid repatriation of the prisoners of war through future exchange registries.

Regimental representatives emphasized that Russian propaganda outlets are attempting to manipulate this isolated capture to entirely discount the results of the broader Ukrainian Defense Forces operation in Kostyantynivka. Military leadership stressed that localized tactical successes or losses do not alter the comprehensive reality of the ongoing battle.

"During these exact same engagements, our soldiers also captured two occupiers. This once again confirms that the fighting was fierce and cannot be reduced to a single isolated episode currently being exploited by Russian propaganda. War does not consist solely of victories," the statement underlined.

Skelya regiment did not specify the exact number of Ukrainian troops now held in enemy custody.

The flag video controversy

The capture follows a fast-moving series of updates regarding the frontline town:

On July 18, Skelya regiment reported the successful clearing of central Kostyantynivka, hoisting the Ukrainian state flag over a prominent municipal building. The unit released footage showing three soldiers reporting the partial liberation of the town.

Volunteer Serhii Sternenko circulated additional footage showing Skelya personnel holding flags adorned with photographs of the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Sternenko claimed the soldiers had been pressured into filming the specific promotional shots to mark the clearing of the local Palace of Culture.

Russian state media later broadcast footage showing that two of the soldiers who held the flags in the video had been taken prisoner. Ukrainian OSINT monitoring channel KiberBoroshno verified that both captured individuals were indeed Skelya servicemen who were overrun while holding their defensive positions.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed the complete capture of Kostyantynivka in early July, an assertion that was flatly denied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) supported Ukraine's assessment, noting that the Russian presence in Kostyantynivka remained confined to small sabotage groups scattered loosely among defensive lines.