Russia says Ukraine rejects local ceasefire in dispute over Kostiantynivka

Russia says its forces have taken the city of Kostiantynivka in Donestk, a claim Ukraine denies.Russia’s Defence Ministry is accusing Ukraine of refusing to halt ⁠the shelling ⁠of the eastern city of Kostiantynivka to allow Moscow to hand over the bodies of ⁠fallen Ukrainian soldiers.The ministry said on Sunday that it had proposed ⁠a six-hour ceasefire in and around Kostiantynivka on ⁠Monday to facilitate ⁠the handover and had given Kyiv until 0900 GMT on Sunday ‌to respond.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Russia’s advance collapses in Ukraine, ‘40,000’ troops killed in Junelist 2 of 4Ukraine hits oil and military facilities near Russia’s St Petersburglist 3 of 4Trump offers to help end Russia-Ukraine-war" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="1200" data-entity-type="event">Russia-Ukraine war in Putin call, Kremlin sayslist 4 of 4China and Russia to hold annual joint naval drillsend of listThe Russian claim is the latest salvo in the verbal battle over Kostiantynivka. Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of the city, a target Moscow has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region.Ukraine denied the city had fallen, saying its forces remained in control.“Of course, that is not true,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X about the claim that Russian forces now controlled the city. “It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story.”“If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war,” he added.On Russian radio, Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, mocked Zelenskyy’s suggested meeting, saying Kostiantynivka was already a part of Russia and the Kremlin’s invitation for Zelenskyy to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow still stood.Zelenskyy last month wrote to Putin seeking face-to-face talks as a step towards peace, but has long rejected any meeting in the Russian capital.Elsewhere, one person was killed in a Ukrainian attack on Russian-occupied Crimea, Russian officials said in the early hours of Sunday. Two others were injured in the attack, including one in a serious condition, the Kremlin-installed regional Governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on Telegram without giving details.