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Putin claim denied
Ukraine rejected Russian claims that Moscow’s forces captured Kostiantynivka, with a General Staff official telling TRT World on Saturday, "We deny this. These are more fake claims," and adding that Kostiantynivka remained under Ukrainian control.
TRT World reported that the General Staff said "Military units and subunits of the 19th Army Corps of the Eastern Grouping continue to conduct defensive operations on designated lines within the town and on its approaches," as Russia’s military told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that it had taken the city.
Kyiv Post, via Ukrinform, said the Ukrainian Group of Forces “East” confirmed on Saturday, July 4, that Kostiantynivka remains under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Kyiv Post also reported that Major Andrii Kovaliov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told Interfax-Ukraine that the Russian President’s claims are false and that data from Ukraine’s military operational systems confirms the city is under Ukrainian control.
Al Jazeera framed the dispute by saying Russian forces claimed capture of Kostiantynivka after roughly a nine-month battle, while Ukrainian officials denied the city fell.
Zelensky challenges Putin
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly challenged Vladimir Putin’s claim ahead of U.S. Independence Day, saying on United24 Media that Putin "decided to lie to the world and to the President of America about the situation on the front" by claiming Russian forces had captured Kostiantynivka.
United24 Media added that Zelenskyy argued Putin "probably wouldn’t have a problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war" if Kostiantynivka were truly under Russian control.
The Moscow Times similarly quoted Zelenskiy on X saying, "Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story," while also repeating the General Staff’s line that Kostiantynivka remained under Ukrainian control.
RBC-Ukraine reported Major Andrii Kovaliov telling it that information circulated about Putin’s statement is "not true," and said the operational situation in the Armed Forces' Dzvin command and control system and the DELTA battlefield management system shows Kostiantynivka remains under Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
RBC-Ukraine also said that during July the enemy carried out 11 assault operations in the Kostiantynivka sector but failed to achieve any success, and that Russian troops are being detected and eliminated.
Wider strikes and risks
While the Kostiantynivka dispute played out, TRT World reported that Ukraine attacked an oil terminal at the Port of St Petersburg overnight, with St Petersburg Gov Aleksandr Beglov saying air defences shot down 72 drones and that there were no casualties.
TRT World also said Russia’s defence ministry reported intercepting or destroying 389 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions, Crimea, and the Azov and Black seas, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed strikes on port oil infrastructure and Kronstadt.
In Ukraine’s central Poltava region, TRT World reported that Russia struck a gas production facility with a drone, causing a fire and suspending operations, according to Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz.
Kyiv Post described Putin’s July 3 visit to an auxiliary command post of the Russian Joint Group of Forces, where Putin claimed Russian forces had fully captured Kostiantynivka and the entirety of the Luhansk region while announcing Moscow would continue mass strikes against Ukrainian territory.
RBC-Ukraine said the General Staff characterized Putin’s claim as "another example of lies and a cynical attempt by Russia's leadership to fabricate at least some successes" and to justify operational and strategic failures alongside disproportionately heavy personnel losses.
