Three more villages and 101 sq km: Ukrainian commander Biletskyi reports new gains in Operation Vivaldi
The 3rd Army Corps and attached units have liberated Zelena Dolyna, Lypove and Kolodiazi on the Lyman front, bringing another 101 sq km of territory back under Ukrainian control during the fourth stage of Operation Vivaldi.
Source: 3rd Army Corps, citing an address by its commander, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi; DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts
Details: Biletskyi said the operation had begun with efforts to root out Russian infiltrators but developed into a rapid, large-scale offensive. He said that Russian forces have begun losing control of their units, where "real chaos has broken out".
Quote: "We have prevented the enemy from bypassing the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration from the flanks and encircling it, while also protecting the Kharkiv-Sloviansk motorway. The enemy has failed to cut the key logistics artery of our grouping in Donbas.
We have disrupted the offensive by Russia's Zapad (West) Group of Forces and forced it to redeploy some units of the 1st Guards Tank Army, easing the pressure on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi."
Details: The corps reported that Russian forces had suffered about 3,000 casualties during the fourth stage of the operation, bringing their total losses in Operation Vivaldi to 8,000.
Over the four stages of the operation, Ukrainian forces have liberated 277 sq km of territory and restored full Ukrainian control over 16 settlements.
DeepState also reported the liberation of Kolodiazi, Lypove and Zelena Dolyna. The analysts also said the defence forces have regained control of areas near Stavky and Shandryholove.
The corps said the operation involves the 3rd Assault Brigade, the 60th Mechanised Brigade, the 125th Heavy Mechanised Brigade, the 3rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, the 25th Anti-Tank Battalion and the 21st Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, also known as Kraken.
Attached units are also taking part in the operation: the 66th Mechanised Brigade, the 3rd Border Guard Detachment, the 10th Mobile Border Guard Detachment (known as Dozor), tactical groups from the 8th Special Operations Regiment, the Lasar's Group unit of the National Guard, the K-2 unit of the Unmanned Systems Forces and unmanned units from the Security Service of Ukraine's Special Operations Centre A.
Background:
- On 15 September, the 3rd Army Corps reported that it had cleared 75 sq km and liberated another 10 sq km during counteroffensive operations in northern Donetsk Oblast.
- On 20 September, it emerged that the 3rd Army Corps had liberated the villages of Shandryholove and Derylove in Donetsk Oblast as part of Operation Vivaldi and established full control over Drobysheve.
- On 28 September, Biletskyi reported that Russian forces had lost 2,000 military personnel during the third stage of Operation Vivaldi, while more than 250 Russian soldiers had been taken prisoner.
- On 3 October, Zelenskyy told Reuters that 125-140 sq km had been liberated in Operation Vivaldi by that point and that Russian losses had risen significantly over the previous two to three months.
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