Ukrainian forces release photos showing Kostyantynivka almost entirely destroyed by relentless Russian strikes
The city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, November 2025 (Photo: 93rd Brigade Kholodnyi Yar / Facebook)
Russian invaders are relentlessly striking Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast with guided aerial bombs and drones, reducing residential neighborhoods to ashes, Ukraine’s 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Brigade said as it released footage showing a city with almost no buildings left intact on Nov. 17.
Photos show residential areas near Hromova Street, with apartment buildings reduced to rubble and cars burned out.
The 93rd Brigade said Russian invaders, taking advantage of the weather, are trying to drive armored vehicles into Kostyantynivka and are conducting infantry assaults. Ukrainian Defense Forces are preventing Russian troops from approaching at close range.
The statement also said about 4,800 people remain in Kostyantynivka, and evacuation is becoming increasingly dangerous.
Frontliner editor-in-chief Andriy Dubchak said many residents flatly refuse to leave, hiding their children in basements.
According to a Frontliner report from Kostyantynivka, where journalists traveled as part of a volunteer mission, civilians have been killed daily in recent weeks by targeted FPV strikes. Populated neighborhoods are being shelled with mortars. The city is constantly shrouded in smoke from impacts.
Journalists said evacuating civilians is becoming more difficult. The trip from Kramatorsk to Kostyantynivka now takes 20–25 minutes — about 10 minutes faster than two months ago. Russian drones patrol the sky as soon as vehicles leave Druzhkivka: an Orlan monitors traffic, while smaller FPV drones attack moving cars with dropped munitions.
On Nov. 8, Suspilne Donbas reported that a Russian drone struck a vehicle belonging to the Proliska humanitarian mission at the entrance to Kostyantynivka. Volunteers and journalists from Spain and Austria were inside the car.
On Nov. 12, the Ukrainian military said it repelled a Russian attempt to break into Kostyantynivka and its outskirts.
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