Zelenskyy Challenges Putin to Meet in Kostiantynivka After Kremlin Claims City Was Captured

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected Russian claims that Moscow’s forces have captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, challenging Russian leader Vladimir Putin to meet him there if the Kremlin’s statements are true.

In a statement published on July 4, Zelenskyy said Putin had falsely claimed control over the frontline city ahead of US Independence Day. According to Zelenskyy, Russia was attempting to create a false narrative about the battlefield situation.

“Right now, on the eve of America’s Independence Day, Putin decided to lie to the world and to the President of America about the situation on the front: claiming that Russian forces have supposedly captured Kostiantynivka in Donbas. Of course, this is not true—it’s just another Russian lie to generate at least some kind of news,” Zelenskyy said.

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War in Ukraine

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He added that if Kostiantynivka were truly under Russian control, Putin “probably wouldn’t have a problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war.” Zelenskyy concluded by saying, “But he still won’t cross the front line: the truth is very different from Putin’s words.”

Russian state media circulated Putin’s claim that Kostiantynivka had been fully captured on July 3. The statement was later rejected by both Ukraine’s military and independent analysts.

Ukraine’s General Staff said data from its Dzvin operational command system and the DELTA battlefield management platform show that Kostiantynivka remains under the control of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.

Earlier, The New York Post, citing historian Peter Frankopan and Russian military bloggers, reported that newly recruited Russian soldiers may survive only 20 to 35 minutes after reaching frontline positions, with Ukrainian drones identified as the primary cause of the mounting battlefield losses.

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