War in Ukraine: Doubts Cast on Russia’s Claim of Victory in Kostiantynivka

*This Podcast is made with the help of AI

In early July, Russia announces that it has fully captured the strategically important city of Kostiantynivka. Ukraine’s General Staff rejects the claim. The US-based Institute for the Study of War also finds no evidence that Russia has established full control of the city.

Almost three months later, FUNKE war correspondent Jan Jessen follows a Ukrainian resupply mission to Kostiantynivka from Kramatorsk. The drone commander Hordyi reports that Ukrainian soldiers are still fighting in the city. Vudi, deputy company commander of a drone battalion, explains why a mission covering just seven kilometres can now take up to ten hours.

Further north, Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi is under way. Major Dmytro Rohoziuk, commander of the 60th Separate Inhulets Mechanized Brigade, challenges another Russian victory claim: Sviatohirsk has not been captured either. Military analyst Dr Gustav Gressel explains how drones, electronic warfare and mechanised units work together in the operation.

Meanwhile, Nataliia Bahrii reports on people who return to destroyed towns and villages despite the danger. Their stories show that regaining territory militarily does not make it safe. This episode asks when a city can truly be considered captured — and what impact a false picture of the battlefield can have on the course of the war.

Featured in this episode

Jan Jessen — Head of Politics at the NRZ newspaper and war and crisis correspondent for FUNKE Media Group

Dr Gustav Gressel — Military analyst at the National Defence Academy in Vienna

Major Dmytro Rohoziuk — Commander of the 60th Separate Inhulets Mechanized Brigade, part of the 3rd Army Corps

Akhmet — Callsign of a battle captain and combat operations officer with the 60th Inhulets Brigade

Hordyi — Callsign of the commander of a drone team with the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade

Vudi — Callsign of a deputy company commander with the 39th Separate Drone Battalion

Nataliia Bahrii — Head of civil-military cooperation for the 60th Inhulets Brigade

Chapters

01 | Russia claims to have captured Kostiantynivka

In Kramatorsk, Jan Jessen follows a resupply mission into the embattled city. Hordyi challenges Russia’s claim of victory.

02 | Seven kilometres in ten hours

Vudi explains how drones and mined roads can turn even short resupply routes into missions lasting most of the day.

03 | Russia’s assault on the fortress belt

The plan to attack Kostiantynivka directly and encircle Ukrainian defensive hubs from the north and south.

04 | Operation Vivaldi

Gustav Gressel and Major Dmytro Rohoziuk explain Ukraine’s counteroffensive and the situation in Sviatohirsk.

05 | Drones, tanks and the 20th Guards Army

Why local superiority in the drone war can enable mechanised assaults — and how Akhmet describes the condition of Russian forces.

06 | Why people refuse to leave

Nataliia Bahrii recounts the stories of people returning home, evacuation efforts and one family the soldiers were too late to save.

07 | Liberated does not mean safe

Why recaptured towns continue to come under fire — and what consequences Russia’s false battlefield claims can have.

Recommended listening

Kherson Under Drone Attack: How a City Keeps Going in Wartime

Terminator Myths in Drone Warfare: Ground Robots and AI in Ukraine

Swarm Warfare: One Pilot Controls Many Drones — Reality vs. AI

Target Acquired: The Drone Front in Ukraine

Cover image

The cover photo was taken on 25 September 2026 in Kramatorsk. In the background is the historic Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, damaged in a bombing.

Photo: Reto Klar / FUNKE Photo Services