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Russia pounds on the gates of Ukraine's 'fortress belt'

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By Dan Peleschuk and Anatolii Stepanov, Reuters June 29, 2026 2:05 AM EDTU - updated 5 hours ago Kostiantynivka Summary [image from Wikipedia ] --Kremlin troops converge on Kostiantynivka --City anchors 'fortress belt' of key eastern cities --Russian gains come even as Kremlin's war machine strained KYIV / NEAR DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine, June 29 (Reuters) - Russia is grinding its way into Kostiantynivka, a key stronghold in Ukraine's eastern "fortress belt" long coveted by the Kremlin, even as its gains across the rest of the 1,200-km front line have largely stalled.   Fighting has begun to seep into the city ​itself. Small groups of Russian soldiers are attempting to infiltrate its outskirts, senior Ukrainian commanders said last week, suggesting close-quarters assaults could follow. Kostiantynivka is the southernmost of four key ‌settlements forming a defensive line central to Ukraine's effort to hold the heavily industrialised Donetsk region. The push toward...
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Whatever You Do in Russia, Don’t Talk About the War

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As Ukraine brings the war home to Russia, officials hesitate to designate shelters and blast sirens, downplaying the conflict’s consequences with euphemisms. Manezhnaya Square, in Moscow, on Tuesday. Credit... Igor Ivanko/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By Valerie Hopkins June 29, 2026, 5:02 a.m. ET The New York Times   The war in Ukraine is a “Special Military Operation,” even though it’s the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II. Across Russia, officials blame fuel shortages on “unscheduled maintenance at refineries” without noting a cause, as Ukrainian drones attack fuel refining facilities in the country. And Russia’s central bank governor has talked of the “structural transformation of the economy,” as code for military spending that has spiraled and reoriented the economy around the military-industrial complex. For years, President Vladimir V. Putin has insulated Russian society from the consequences of his war in Ukraine, using euphemisms as a psychological shie...
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