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‘The city is being destroyed’ Photos from Ukraine’s Kostiantynivka, the likely next target of Russia’s offensive

Source: Meduza

Russian forces are close to fully capturing Toretsk and Chasiv Yar. Securing these two Ukrainian strongholds in Donbas, which have been the sites of months-long fighting, would pave the way for Russia’s advance on Kostiantynivka. “Once the Russians take these two cities, Kostiantynivka will be next. It serves as the nearest rear base for the grouping fighting for Toretsk, Kurdyumivka, and Chasiv Yar,” Andriy Kramchenkov, head of the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne Donbas, said on February 4. Meduza gave the same assessment in its latest battlefield update.

On January 31, the head of the Kostiantynivka City Military Administration, Serhiy Horbunov, stated that the front line was 10 kilometers (six miles) from the city, where around 17,000 residents remain. Official figures indicate that no children are left in Kostiantynivka — the last four were evacuated at the end of January, according to Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin. “The enemy bombards the city daily with guided bombs, ballistic missiles, and FPV drones. The city is being destroyed in its entirety,” he said. Meduza shares photos from Kostiantynivka, which appears increasingly likely to be the next target of Russia’s offensive.

The ruins of a building hit by a Russian attack earlier the same day. Kostiantynivka, Ukraine. January 23, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images
A photograph lies in the rubble of a school destroyed by a Russian attack on Kostiantynivka, Ukraine. January 23, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images
A man walks past sandbags surrounding the entrance to a post office in Kostiantynivka. January 22, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images
The aftermath of a Russian attack on Kostiantynivka. January 23, 2025.
Jose Colon / Anadolu / Getty Images
Ukrainian civilians in Kostiantynivka take part in relief efforts after a Russian attack. January 22, 2025.
Jose Colon / Anadolu / Getty Images
Ukrainian civilians walk through a partially destroyed market in Kostiantynivka. 
Madeleine Kelly / ZUMA Press Wire / Scanpix / LETA
Kostiantynivka
Madeleine Kelly / ZUMA Press Wire / Getty Images
A woman looks up at her apartment block, which was damaged by a Russian attack two days earlier. Kostiantynivka, Ukraine. January 22, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images
Volunteers wait at a hospital for updates on the condition of their injured colleagues following a drone attack on the armored transport of their evacuation team in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.
Jose Colon / Anadolu / Getty Images
Employees of Ukraine’s State Emergency Service supply water to local residents in a frontline neighborhood on the outskirts of Kostiantynivka. January 20, 2025.
Anatolii Stepanov / SIPA / Scanpix / LETA
A man bikes past an overgrown sports field in Kostiantynivka. January 23, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images
A surface-to-air missile is fired near the Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar. January 22, 2025.
Carl Court / Getty Images