Russia claims it took control of front-line industrial city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region

Russia claimed on Friday that its forces had taken control of the front-line industrial city of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

“The main news is that Kostiantynivka has been completely taken,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Kostiantynivka is about 15 miles southeast of the city of Kramatorsk, which has served as the administrative center of the eastern region since Russia seized Donetsk in 2014.

Ukrainian authorities have not immediately commented on Russia’s claim, and independent verification of the claim is difficult due to the ongoing war.