Kremlin proposes temporary Kostiantynivka ceasefire and handover of bodies to Ukraine, calls for talks in Moscow
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Russia proposed a temporary ceasefire in the front-line city of Kostiantynivka to facilitate a handover of fallen Ukrainian service members' bodies, and the Kremlin said that President Volodymyr Zelensky should travel to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin instead of meeting in the embattled city.
According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Moscow proposed suspending hostilities in Kostiantynivka from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Moscow time on July 6 to carry out what it described as a humanitarian transfer of the bodies of fallen Ukrainian soldiers.
The ministry said Ukraine must notify the Russian military of its decision by noon Moscow time on July 5.
Responding to Zelensky's suggestion earlier on July 4 of meeting in Kostiantynivka, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded that the Ukrainian president could come to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, rather than addressing the proposal to meet in the embattled city.
The proposal followed a series of conflicting statements from Russian officials regarding the status of Kostiantynivka.
Overnight on July 4, Russian state media reported that Putin had been informed the city had been fully captured by Russian forces. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov also claimed Kostiantynivka was under full Russian control and described its capture as a key step toward seizing the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk defensive hub.
Hours later, however, Russia's Defense Ministry told the state-owned TASS news agency that fighting in Kostiantynivka was continuing.
Earlier on July 4, Zelensky dismissed Putin's claim that Russian forces had captured the city as "yet another Russian lie designed to generate some sort of news."
"If Kostiantynivka were currently under Russian control, then surely Putin would have no problem meeting me there and finding diplomatic solutions to finally end the war," Zelensky said.
Ukraine's General Staff has rejected Russian claims that Kostiantynivka has fallen, saying the city remains under Ukrainian control despite Russian infantry groups infiltrating parts of the urban area and continued heavy fighting.
Military analysts from DeepState have also reported that Russian forces have reached the outskirts of the city and continue attempts to advance.
Kostiantynivka is one of the key cities in Ukraine's eastern "fortress belt" alongside Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which remains a major obstacle to Russia's goal of occupying all of Donetsk Oblast.
Fierce fighting for the city has continued for months, with Russian forces gradually advancing toward and into parts of the urban area.
