Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described Russia's proposal to organize a humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka as "an absolutely primitive move." According to him, this initiative hides Moscow's desire to occupy the city, which Russian forces have failed to capture for over a year and a half. The statement was made during a conversation with journalists, commenting on Vladimir Putin's remarks on November 12 during a meeting with US presidential special envoys.
"The People There Are Exclusively Ukrainian Citizens with Weapons"
Zelenskyy stressed that there is practically no civilian population left in Kostiantynivka. "The people there are exclusively Ukrainian citizens with weapons and Russian citizens who are occupiers and also with weapons. And there, inside Kostiantynivka, fighting is ongoing," the president stated. In his assessment, Russia's narrative about the "civilian population" in the city is "Putin's reflection on the fact that he was unable to capture Kostiantynivka." The president added that Ukraine had done everything possible to ensure the evacuation of civilians from the combat zone.
Position on Negotiations with the American Side
Zelenskyy announced that he had explained his position on Kostiantynivka to the American negotiators. "They brought this proposal to me," he noted, referring to Moscow's initiative. According to the president, Ukraine is "deeply in the material and takes everything into account." He emphasized that if Kyiv gives up Kostiantynivka, the next targets for Russian troops will be other Donbas cities — specifically Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. "They want to destroy these cities, to kill all our people. That is their idea," Zelenskyy stated.
The Oleshky Precedent as an Argument
As an argument, the president cited the experience of Oleshky in the Kherson region, where civilians were unblocked in 2024. "In Oleshky, we had one success — the most important one: people were unblocked, but do not forget who blocked them and for what? The Russians blocked the people, placed mines there. People were left without food," he recalled. At the same time, Zelenskyy pointed out that satellite images after the unblocking in Oleshky showed a "scattering" of Russian military personnel, which, in his opinion, indicates troop rotation under the guise of a humanitarian operation. "And what will happen to Kostiantynivka then?" the president asked rhetorically.
Context: Putin's Statement and the Kremlin's Position
Reminder: On November 12, during a meeting with US presidential special envoys, Vladimir Putin stated that a humanitarian mission could be organized in Kostiantynivka modeled after the operation in Oleshky. The Kremlin added that the Russian military is ready to begin demining the city, which, according to their estimate, will take about five days. Commenting on these statements, Zelenskyy noted that over a year and a half of hostilities, Russian forces suffered, according to his data, 54,000 casualties in the assaults on Kostiantynivka in October alone. "If the lives of civilians were important to them, they could have offered some similar operations in villages located near Oleshky. But Russia did not offer a single one of those villages. And what did they offer? Kostiantynivka," the president emphasized.
Ukrainian Side: Demining as Cover for Rotation
The Office of the President of Ukraine previously noted that Russians could use the humanitarian mission format in Kostiantynivka to rotate their military units, similar to what happened in Oleshky. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, stated in turn that the Ukrainian side is unaware of any concrete plans for a humanitarian mission in Kostiantynivka. Thus, Moscow's initiative remains without a confirmed implementation mechanism on the Ukrainian side, and Kyiv views it as an element of military rather than humanitarian strategy.
