Russia claims full control of Konstantinovka city in eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine denies

Russia has taken full control of the city of Konstantinovka in eastern Ukraine, said Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff and first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, at a Russian Defense Ministry briefing for the media on Saturday.

However, Ukraine denied the claim.

Konstantinovka is a key stronghold located in Ukraine's Donetsk region.

Russian forces took control of about 66 square kilometers in Konstantinovka, and the Ukrainian forces have been repelled several kilometers away, Rudskoy said.

The capture of Konstantinovka means Russia's taking control of the key gateway of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Konstantinovka urban agglomeration. Russian forces are advancing towards the urban agglomeration from multiple directions and have already reached eight kilometers from the eastern suburbs of Slavyansk, he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the capture of Konstantinovka "carries great strategic significance," while visiting one of the temporary command posts of the joint force grouping on Friday.

"As we all know, the city is a key transportation hub and a major industrial center of Donbas," Putin said, adding that Russian forces have taken control of 133 settlements and more than 3,000 square km across Donbas and Novorossiya since the start of 2026.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denied Russia's claim.

Andriy Kovalev, Ukraine's General Staff spokesman, said that Russia is still trying to seize Konstantinovka, which is under the control of Ukrainian forces.

Russia claims full control of Konstantinovka city in eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine denies

Exports of the "new trio" green products from east China's Shandong Province in the first five months of 2026 reached 6.11 billion yuan (approx. 900 million U.S. dollars) , a year-on-year increase of 27.7 percent, according to statistics released by Qingdao Customs.

The "new trio" refers to electric vehicles (EVs), lithium-ion batteries, and solar products. As a national pilot zone for green, low-carbon, and high-quality development, Shandong has seen strong momentum across all three key categories.

EVs led the pack, with exports totaling 3.7 billion yuan, up 16 percent year on year.

Lithium-ion batteries followed closely, generating 1.3 billion yuan in export value, a 28.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Solar products experienced the most explosive growth. Exports of photovoltaic products hit 1.11 billion yuan, surging 89.3 percent year on year.

Shandong's green product export surges 27.7 pct in Jan-May