Key facts
- Ukraine recaptured 51 square kilometers of territory in the latest phase of Operation Vivaldi.
- Over 250 Russian prisoners were captured.
- Operation Vivaldi has now recovered a total of 176 square kilometers of territory.
- The operation involved the integrated use of drones, armor, artillery, and infantry.
- Ukrainian forces employed unmanned technology, including turning armored vehicles into kamikaze robots.
- The Russian defense ministry denied any significant Ukrainian success near Lyman.
Ukraine's army has pushed back Russian forces in a key part of the eastern front, capturing over 250 prisoners of war, according to a senior Ukrainian general. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps, announced the success on Monday, stating that Russian forces surrendered in entire subunits. This latest phase of Operation Vivaldi, a carefully prepared effort to regain the initiative in the Donetsk region, recaptured 51 square kilometers of territory. This brings the total recovered during Vivaldi to 176 square kilometers.
The operation highlights Ukraine's ability to counter Russian advances and demonstrates to allies, including the Trump administration, that Russia's gains are not inevitable. The offensive involved the integrated use of drones, armor, artillery, and infantry against Russian forces attempting to seize control of Lyman. Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine’s State National Institute for Strategic Studies, noted that holding Lyman was crucial for the defense of the northern Donetsk region and that further Russian advances would have complicated the city's defense.
Ukraine emphasized the use of unmanned technology to minimize troop exposure, including air-dropping ground robots and converting armored vehicles into kamikaze robots. Biletskyi explained that Ukrainian forces deceived Russian troops about the main thrust, drawing reserves into counterattacks elsewhere while the real strike was made toward Nove. Bielieskov stated that this maneuver undermined Russia's strategy of turning local advances into strategic successes, which aimed to create an impression of inevitable victory in Donetsk and question Western support.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that over 10,660 Russian troops were killed or wounded across all active combat sectors in the past week, emphasizing that such gains prevent Russia from mounting larger offensive activities. The operation also signals to the Trump administration, which has been seeking to end the war, that Russia's promises of rapid occupation are not materializing. Despite open-source battlefield monitors independently documenting Ukrainian gains, the Kremlin insisted it had suffered no setback, calling the announcement a smokescreen for Kyiv's "Western curators."