(KOSTYANTYNIVKA, DONETSK REGION) – Russian forces have reached the outskirts of the strategically vital city of Kostyantynivka in eastern Ukraine, where the 93rd Brigade is defending one of the most dangerous sectors of the entire front line against an enemy increasingly reliant on drone warfare.
The BBC’s defence correspondent Jonathan Beale reported from Kyiv that there are some signs of optimism despite the brutal winter campaign. “If you look at how much territory Russia took last year advancing about 9 km a day, now it is advancing just over 2 kilometres a day,” Beale stated. “Last month Ukraine took back more territory than it lost to Russia, about 100 square kilometres, mostly in the Zaporizhzhia region.”
Casualty figures underscore the cost of Russian advances. “Ukraine is inflicting heavy casualties for those advances on Russia, about 35,000 Russian casualties, that is killed and wounded a month. And that is close to the figure that Russia is recruiting to replace those soldiers every month. So Ukraine’s goal is to increase that figure to 50,000,” Beale reported.
Despite these positive signs, Russia remains committed to the war. The Russian dictator clearly still wants the entire east of the country, which has long been his goal. It is too early to say whether this is a lasting change in fortune or whether Russia will invest more heavily over the summer months and make it cost more for Ukraine.
The area near Kostyantynivka is currently one of the most dangerous hotspots. If this highly strategic city falls, Moscow will be able to push towards the last remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbas region, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, from the north, east and south. Warfare in the region has taken on a new character, with drone attacks now the primary weapon of choice for both sides.
“This is one of the most dangerous places in eastern Ukraine. Now, the city of Kostyantynivka. Kamikaze drones hunt down anything that moves here. The area within the range of these flying machines is called the kill zone,” BBC correspondent Abdul Jalil Abdurasulov reported from the front line.
Kenya, an infantryman from the 93rd Brigade, has just come out from the front line. He and his teammates spent 225 days inside the kill zone. “Commanders tried to change us several times, but each time our replacement failed to reach us because of drones. In the end, luck helped the incoming team and we were swapped,” he said.
In the age of drones, speed is more important than armour. Soldiers eat, sleep, and fight in tiny trenches. They call it a foxhole and rarely leave it. They even use a plastic bottle to urinate since it is too dangerous to go outside.
Khani spent 122 days at the front line. He barely survived when Russian forces discovered his position. “First, they dropped explosives and sent kamikaze drones. Then, two assault troopers tried to go into the basement where we stayed. They threw grenades and blew up an anti tank mine that destroyed the entrance,” he recounted.
Supplies were a constant challenge. “There was constantly a shortage of water and food. Drones that delivered supplies would often get destroyed before they could reach us. In winter, it was extremely cold,” Khani said. Asked how he survived one of the harshest winters in Ukraine for many years, he replied: “Some of us survived, some didn’t. My comrade got very ill and one day he didn’t wake up. He died from hypothermia.”
These Ukrainian infantrymen remain at their positions despite all odds. And while most fighting is done by drones today, it is the foot soldiers who hold territory.
Overnight, Russia attacked eight regions of Ukraine. President Zelenskyy said Russia used 524 attack drones and 22 missiles, both ballistic and cruise missiles. In Dnipro alone, 26 people were injured with Russian strikes hitting residential and public buildings, cars, and businesses.
President Zelenskyy also defended a massive drone attack on Russia, saying it was entirely justified. At least four people were killed and Moscow’s main oil refinery was hit. Russia says it intercepted nearly 600 drones.
On the diplomatic front, Beale noted that America tried to force Ukraine to sign some kind of pre peace agreement and they are still looking for reassurances. A Ukrainian senior official, former Defence Minister Umerov, travelled to Miami to meet with Steve Witkoff just before Ukraine and Russia agreed an American brokered ceasefire timed to coincide with the Russian dictator’s Victory Day parade in Red Square.
“I was talking to a number of Western diplomats here who have said that the faith in the Americans has clearly been dented because of their failures. Their efforts at the moment to try to achieve a peace in the Middle East have not worked so far. So I think it is true to say that Ukraine is looking more to Europe, but it still needs America and certainly you do not hear any language from President Zelenskyy which is designed to cause offence in Washington. They know President Trump is very important in terms of providing security guarantees if there is going to be a long term peace. But I think their confidence in whether certainly Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner can broker a peace deal and one that is fair, one that Ukraine would find acceptable, I think that confidence has been dented because of what they have seen in the Middle East,” Beale stated.
Footage and interviews were provided by BBC News, reported from Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region.
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