Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine's Donbas

Russian troop build-up threatens city seen as key to seizing Ukraine's Donbas 53 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Abdujalil Abdurasulov In Kyiv Reuters Ukraine's commanders say the situation in Kostyantynivka is still under control, but accept Russian troops are active in the city Russian troops have infiltrated the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine and are now trying to surround it. The entire city is now effectively in a "grey zone", no longer controlled by anyone, Ukrainian soldiers have told the BBC. "They get into areas behind our backs and in urban conditions it's extremely difficult to push them out," says a Ukrainian drone pilot who operates in that area and prefers to remain anonymous. Kostyantynivka is a gateway to the rest of the Donbas region. If it falls, Russian forces would be able push towards Ukraine's last remaining strongholds in the east, the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and move closer to seizing Donbas completely, one of the Kremlin's key objectives in this war. For months Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine has stalled along the front line, and Ukrainian commanders say they have recaptured more territory this year than they have lost, disrupting Moscow's crucial supply lines between the Russian border and occupied Crimea. On Sunday, Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea suspended fuel sales to the public because of the shortages. And Kyiv's repeated strikes on oil refineries in Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities have also sought to bring the conflict to the attention of Russians far from the front line. But in Kostyantynivka, Russian soldiers have advanced from the south and have even been spotted at the other end of the city, on the city's northern outskirts. Moscow says its forces are rapidly advancing in the south-western part of Kostyantynivka and that they have encircled Ukrainian military units. That is denied by Kyiv and Brig Gen Oleksandr Bakulin, commander of Ukraine's 19th Corp which is in charge of units defending the city and surrounding areas, insists "the situation remains under control" and "the enemy has no success". However, he does acknowledge there are about 130 Russian soldiers still inside the city. Russian defence ministry Russia's defence ministry has posted footage showing Russian troops on the ground in Kostyantynivka The situation on the ground may not be as critical as Moscow says, but it does appear far more serious than Ukrainian officials are ready to publicly admit, a Ukrainian officer from a unit that operates inside Kostyantynivka told the BBC. He too has preferred to stay anonymous, but told the BBC: "We still have clean-up and assault groups inside the city, but the Russians manage to accumulate more and more soldiers there." Every building in Kostyantynivka acts as a potential shelter for soldiers to hide, and in the summer months the trees provide extra cover. So Russian forces have found a way to advance inside the "kill zone" where Ukraini