Russia wants to organize a humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka in order to finally capture the city. Almost no civilians remain there, only military personnel are present, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated while speaking to journalists.
"The Russian story about the 'civilian population' in Kostiantynivka is Putin's reflection on the fact that he failed to take Kostiantynivka. It is an absolutely primitive move, because otherwise he cannot seize this city," Zelenskyy said.
According to him, Putin simply wants Ukrainian troops to leave Kostiantynivka so that the Russians can enter and thereby occupy the entire city.
"But we are deeply knowledgeable about the situation here and take everything into account. I explained my position regarding Kostiantynivka to the American negotiators. The people there are solely armed citizens of Ukraine and armed citizens of Russia, who are the occupiers. Fighting is ongoing there, inside Kostiantynivka. They brought this proposal to me," the President stated.
As Zelenskyy noted, Ukraine has done everything possible to allow civilians to leave Kostiantynivka.
Zelenskyy emphasized that if Ukraine yields Kostiantynivka to the Russians, their next steps will be other cities of Donbas, and this is precisely the philosophy behind this idea.
"In Oleshky, we had one, most important success: we brought people out of the blockade, but do not forget who blockaded them and why? The Russians blockaded the people and placed mines there. People were left without food. It is great that we unblocked and evacuated them, but if you look at satellite images, you will see what the Russians did in Oleshky. Then what will happen to Kostiantynivka?" Zelenskyy said.
According to him, the Russians have been unable to take Kostiantynivka for a year and a half already, and in October they lost 54,000 occupiers in their assaults on the city.
"If they cared about the lives of peaceful residents, they could have proposed similar operations in the villages near Oleshky, yet Russia did not propose a single one of those villages. What did they propose? Kostiantynivka. Why? Because after Kostiantynivka will come Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. They want to destroy these cities and kill all our people. That is their idea," Zelenskyy stated.
On November 12, during a meeting with the US President's special envoys, Vladimir Putin stated that a humanitarian mission could be organized in Kostiantynivka, similar to the operation carried out in the city of Oleshky in the Kherson region.
The Kremlin stated that Russian occupiers are ready to begin demining Kostiantynivka, which, according to them, will take five days.
The Office of the President of Ukraine noted that the Russians could use the humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka to rotate their own military forces, just as happened in Oleshky.
