Russian Forces Breach Fortress City in Donetsk, State Media Claims

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces were taking ground in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar at Russian positions near Kostyantynivka on Aug. 26, 2025. Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP

Russian troops have breached the eastern fringes of the fortified city of Kostyantynivka in Donetsk, according to officials and military experts cited by Russian state media.

“Serious combat is underway on the eastern outskirts of Kostyantynivka,” Andrey Marochko, a Russian military expert, told Moscow’s TASS news agency on Oct. 12.