During a meeting with military academy graduates, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces were close to securing the contested Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, Interfax reported on June 23. Putin also accused NATO of openly preparing for war and said that intensifying Ukrainian drone strikes on civilian infrastructure were psychological operations designed to destabilize Russian society.

Kostiantynivka is a vital gateway protecting Ukraine's remaining major Donbas strongholds of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and despite Putin's claims of an imminent capture, Ukrainian forces report the city remains a contested "grey zone." While Russian infantry has infiltrated the city's flanks, the broader front remains largely stagnant as Ukraine continues to rely on extensive drone-enforced attrition belts to degrade Russian logistics up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) behind the front.