Zelenskyy meets soldiers taking part in Operation Vivaldi on Lyman front

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has travelled to the Lyman front, where he met soldiers from the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Prince Mstyslav the Brave who are taking part in Operation Vivaldi.

Source: Zelenskyy on X (Twitter)

Quote: "The command post of the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Prince Mstyslav the Brave. Today, I met here with the warriors carrying out missions in the Lyman sector and presented them with state awards. I also spoke with the brigade commander about the missions the unit is carrying out and the brigade's needs."

Details: Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara and Mykhailo Drapatyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, were also present alongside Zelenskyy in a video posted by the president.

The president said that as part of Operation Vivaldi, the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade, together with other units within the 3rd Army Corps, has already brought more than 125 sq km of Ukrainian territory back under Ukrainian control.

Zelenskyy also held a coordination meeting with corps, brigade and battalion commanders.

Quote: "There were reports on decisions regarding defence procurement at the brigade level, first and foremost the procurement of pickup trucks. We also discussed strengthening the Unmanned Systems Forces, increasing funding for drones, simplifying procurement, increasing authorised strength, as well as replenishing and training personnel. There is a need for long-range artillery. We coordinated this issue with the military. We also agreed that commanders would prepare proposals on pay for warriors serving on the front line."

Details: Zelenskyy said he also spoke separately with corps commanders about the situation on the eastern and southern fronts, the development of drone and counter-drone technologies, and new methods of warfare.

Quote: "We also discussed the return of service members who went AWOL, the recruitment of foreigners, and logistics.

All issues at the level of military command must be worked through and discussed at a meeting of the Staff [of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief – ed.]. We are working to ensure that our warriors have more capabilities to defend our positions."

Background:

• On 27 September, Zelenskyy reported "important results" achieved by Ukrainian forces on the Lyman front in Donetsk Oblast as part of Operation Vivaldi, as well as successes by an Air Assault Forces task force during another active defence operation.
• On 28 September, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the 3rd Army Corps, reported that during the third stage of Operation Vivaldi, Russian forces had suffered 2,000 personnel casualties and more than 250 Russian troops had been taken prisoner.

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