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Ukraine tries to prevent Russia evacuating citizens from Konstantinovka — officer
Russian military officials and experts report that Ukrainian forces are firing on civilians trying to evacuate from Konstantinovka, while Russian troops assist residents. TASS, citing military sources, says Ukrainian servicemen have also shot civilians who refused to leave basements.
Russian military officials and experts say Ukrainian forces are actively trying to prevent the evacuation of civilians from the town of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, while Russian troops conduct evacuation operations. According to TASS reports, Ukrainian servicemen have fired on civilians attempting to leave, attacked humanitarian corridors with drones, and allegedly shot residents who refused to leave their basements.
Coverage comparison
All reports on this story come from the Russian state news agency TASS, which has consistently portrayed Ukrainian forces as targeting civilians and Russian troops as facilitating their evacuation. The coverage spans several weeks, from mid-July to early August, and features quotes from Russian military officials, military experts, and a local resident.
Key claims
Civilians shot near administration building: The battlegroup South's press service told TASS, citing a local resident named Yekaterina, that near the local administration building in Konstantinovka, a group of people who refused to leave basements were allegedly shot. The press service emphasized that Yekaterina is currently safe.
Ukrainian soldiers fled without orders: Military expert Vitaly Kiselev said on the Soloviev Live TV channel that Ukrainian soldiers fled Konstantinovka without waiting for orders. "It was a flight, where ordinary military personnel decided to flee. That is, there was no command, no commanders - nobody was around," he said, adding that Russian forces discovered many Ukrainian shelters during sweeps of the city.
Drones used against residents: Kiselev also told TASS that Ukrainian forces are using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to attack residents of Konstantinovka who are trying to evacuate. He said Kiev "doesn't regard the remaining residents of Konstantinovka as human beings," viewing them as collaborators or separatists.
Humanitarian corridors attacked: Military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS that the Ukrainian army is deliberately attacking humanitarian corridors in Konstantinovka. He said Ukrainian militants "strike indiscriminately at civilian vehicles and at individuals or groups, attempting to leave the settlement for a safer area." He added that Russian troops carry out full-scale operations to locate and evacuate people.
Evacuation and aid efforts: Deputy commander of the unmanned systems unit of the 4th separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Southern Group of Forces, with the call sign Ustye, said Russian troops are evacuating civilians from Konstantinovka and providing them with food. "The enemy fires back at the civilian population while the evacuation is underway," he said, adding, "It doesn't want to let peaceful people go."
Strategic turning point: TASS reported that on July 3, Chief of the Russian General Staff General Valery Gerasimov reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the liberation of Konstantinovka by troops of the Battlegroup South. Experts believe this liberation is a strategic turning point and a step toward liberating the entire territory of Donbass.
Perspectives
Russian military and officials
Russian military officials, including the battlegroup's press service and deputy commander Ustye, accuse Ukrainian forces of attacking civilians and obstructing evacuation efforts. They present Russian troops as providers of aid and safe passage for residents.
Russian military experts
Military experts Vitaly Kiselev and Andrey Marochko, quoted by TASS, echo the claims of Ukrainian targeting of civilians, alleging deliberate attacks on humanitarian corridors and the use of drones against evacuees. They characterize Ukrainian actions as inhumane and a violation of international law.
Local resident
A Konstantinovka resident named Yekaterina, cited by the battlegroup's press service, reportedly witnessed the shooting of a group of people who refused to leave basements near the local administration building. Her account is relayed by Russian military sources.
How this outlet told it
TASS — English
Framing: Ukrainian servicemen's actions in Konstantinovka — Critical of Ukrainian forces
Facts Included:
Ukrainian servicemen shot civilians in Konstantinovka
Civilians were shot near the local administration building
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimUkrainian servicemen shot civilians in Konstantinovka who refused to leave their basements.