Putin wants to repeat the Oleshky humanitarian mission in occupied Kostiantynivka. Why there? And is it a ploy to resupply Russian troops?

Vladimir Putin has proposed a humanitarian evacuation in Kostiantynivka, a largely Russian-controlled city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, ahead of talks with US presidential envoys. He says 400 to 500 civilians remain and suggests Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners lead the operation with foreign journalists present. The proposal could help civilians, but it would also put the disputed question of who controls the city in the spotlight.

Kostiantynivka had about 70,000 residents before the war and lies 20 kilometres south of Kramatorsk. Russian forces took most of it in summer 2026, but Ukrainian units remain on the northern and western outskirts, supplied by drones. A Ukrainian official has warned that a humanitarian pause could let Russia rotate or reinforce troops; the mission could also be used to present Russian control as complete or expose Ukrainian positions. In the earlier Oleshky evacuation, a Ukrainian drone filmed Russian drone operators entering the town.