The Albany Gazette - Ukraine denies Moscow claim of seizing strategic stronghold

A Ukrainian army spokesman told AFP the city remained under its control, while President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Moscow's announcement as "a lie", with the duelling claims coming after Russia also said Ukrainian drones had struck its second city, St Petersburg.

"The situation remains difficult," Ukrainian army spokesman Andriy Kovalyov told AFP, but Kostyantynivka "is under the control of the Ukrainian Defence Forces".

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing a military uniform, had thanked troops for seizing Kostyantynivka, a town with a pre-war population of 78,000 that Moscow has been trying to take control over for months.

The army has been sending in small groups of soldiers to infiltrate and secure positions, a method previously used to capture the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in late 2025.

Kostyantynivka is one of the final obstacles on the route to the major Ukrainian-held cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk; capturing them is the Kremlin's ultimate goal in the Donbas.

Kovalyov said Saturday that "Ukrainian defenders continue to hold their positions along the designated defensive lines."

He admitted that small groups of Russian troops have been infiltrating the town but insisted that fighting was ongoing.

Moscow's defence ministry, however, said: "Russian troops are in all parts of the town -- from the southern to northern outskirts."

Zelensky called the claim "just another Russian lie."

"If Kostyantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war," the Ukrainian leader said on social media.

Putin has repeatedly turned down talks with Zelensky to end more than four years of war, saying Moscow intends to capture the rest of eastern Ukraine by force.

Also on Saturday, Russia's defence ministry proposed Kyiv halt shelling in Kostyantynivka on Monday between 0900 and 1500 GMT to carry out a "humanitarian" operation to hand over "the bodies of killed Ukrainian soldiers".

Both Zelensky and Putin spoke separately with US President Donald Trump about the conflict in Ukraine ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara next week, with Zelensky writing on X that there was a "real prospect to put an end to this war, and America's resolve is decisive".

- St Petersburg hit -

The claims came as Russia said Saturday Ukrainian drones hit an oil terminal in Saint Petersburg, Putin's hometown, as well as striking a port near Finland and falling on the historical Peterhof complex without causing damage.

Moscow vowed to respond, saying it downed almost 500 Ukrainian drones and 10 of Kyiv's Flamingo missiles overnight.

The Ukrainian attack came after a Russian strike on Kyiv this week killed 30 people, amid other strikes.

Zelensky also claimed Kyiv struck the Kronstadt naval base in Saint Petersburg.

Ukraine has been increasing strikes on Russian territory -- hitting as far as the Urals far away from the front line -- in recent months, in retaliation for Moscow's dragging offensive.

It is also a bid to bring Russia to the negotiating table, more than four years into its offensive that turned into Europe's worst war since WWII.

Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said the port of Vysotsk, near the border with NATO-member Finland, had been hit.

"Debris has been reported in the area of the port of Vysotsk," Drozdenko said on social media early Saturday, while saying the "attack was still being repelled."

Saint Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov said drones hit "the area of an oil terminal in the Kirovsk district" of Saint Petersburg.

"Air defence forces shot down 72 drones, one of which crashed in Peterhof. There were no casualties or damage," he added.

The Peterhof palace is a giant estate of gardens and a palace built in the 18th century under Russian Tsar Peter I.

- Life disruptions -

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said air defence had shot down 62 drones headed for the Russian capital.

Moscow said one person was killed in the border Bryansk region and another in Russian-annexed Crimea.

Authorities in the border Belgorod region said "infrastructure facilities" had been damaged by the attacks, leading to "disruptions to electricity and water supply."

Ukraine's increasing drone strikes on Russian cities have affected ordinary life in Russia more than at any other point during the conflict.

In Russia's Kaliningrad exclave, there were delays at the airport taking passengers to mainland Russia due to the strikes, according to an AFP reporter there.

Several Russian regions have also experienced fuel shortages, causing hours-long queues for petrol, due to Ukraine hitting oil and fuel depots.

(Y.Harris--TAG)