The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has rejected this Saturday the version spread 24 hours ago by the Kremlin about the supposed capture of the strategic city of Konstantinovka, located in the Donetsk region, in the east of the country.
In response to the claim made on Friday by Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov, spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalev, declared to the newspaper "Pravda" that Ukrainian units continue to resist the attacks of Russian troops in the vicinity of the town, as well as the activity of sabotage groups inside.
"During July 3, the enemy carried out 11 assault operations, but achieved no success. Instead, the enemy, and not for the first time, resorts to spreading disinformation and fake news by its highest officials," the commander stated.
"Ukrainian defenders continue to hold their positions on the designated lines. The situation remains difficult, but it is under the control of the Defense Forces of Ukraine," he added.
Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Konstantinovka remains under Kyiv's control and described Peskov's words as completely detached from reality.
"It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some news. If Konstantinovka were under Russian control, perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to end this war. But the reality is that he will not cross the front line; the reality is very different from his words," the leader stated.
Meanwhile, this Saturday Moscow insists that the city is in its possession. The head of the Main Operations Directorate of the Russian General Staff, Sergei Rudskoi, even offered a tally of Ukrainian casualties and maintains that the country has "lost" 13,500 soldiers in the last phase of the fighting.
"Despite the measures taken by the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukrainian units failed to hold the city under the attack of Russian troops," he asserted in a press conference reported by Interfax.