“Residents are displaying Russian symbols”: a Ukrainian serviceman described the situation in Kostiantynivka, where fighting is ongoing

In Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk region, local residents are “openly displaying Russian symbols.”

This was reported by a Ukrainian serviceman with the call sign “Muchnoy.”

According to him, such incidents have been recorded in the eastern Santurynivka neighborhood.

“This creates an additional risk for our units: such elements may disrupt movements, direct fire, or simply create informational noise,” Muchnoy believes.

He said that the Russian army is “pressuring” the Hora neighborhood and the approaches to it in the northeastern part of the city, and is “trying to infiltrate” the Zaliznychnyi and Shanghai neighborhoods, located in the city center and southeast respectively.

“As for fire impact, the city center is being shelled with heavy artillery, with repeated strikes recorded on residential areas without any target selection. The western part was additionally hit with glide bombs and attack drones — this is already work aimed at destroying infrastructure and exerting psychological pressure,” the serviceman added.

At the same time, Muchnoy notes that the entrances to the city and the main roads are under tight Russian control with the help of units such as “Rubikon.”

“On the highways there are so-called ‘waiting drones’ that react to any target, from heavy equipment to a lone motorcycle. This seriously complicates resupply, rotations, and evacuations,” he wrote.