Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday denied Russian claims of capturing the city of Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region. Zelenskyy accused President Vladimir Putin of choosing 'to lie to the world' about the situation on the front line.

According to Anadolu Agency, Zelenskyy stated that Putin's assertions about Russian forces capturing Kostiantynivka were false. He made these remarks on social media platform X after a conversation with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, labeling the claims as 'just another Russian lie.' Zelenskyy challenged Putin to meet him in Kostiantynivka to negotiate an end to the conflict, highlighting the disparity between Putin's words and the reality on the ground.

On Friday evening, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had claimed that Russian forces took control of Kostiantynivka. He reported that Putin considered this as an essential step in capturing the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk hub, a key defensive position of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The industrial city of Kostiantynivka is strategically located about 24 kilometers southeast of Kramatorsk, the administrative center of eastern Ukraine since the Russian annexation of Donetsk city in 2014. Earlier on Saturday, Andriy Kovalev, Ukraine's General Staff spokesman, informed the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper that Ukraine continued its defensive operations in the city, asserting that the situation, though difficult, remained under Ukrainian control.

Kovalev mentioned that on July 3, there were 11 unsuccessful assault attempts by Russian forces in the area, accusing Moscow of disseminating misinformation about the ongoing situation. In response to Zelenskyy's challenge, Peskov reiterated Putin's invitation for a meeting in Moscow, stating that Zelenskyy was welcome as soon as he was ready to make crucial decisions known to the Kyiv regime.