Published: · Region: Eastern Europe · Category: conflict

Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi Reclaims 125 km² and Three Settlements in Donetsk

Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps says it has liberated Shandryholove, Derylove, and Drobysheve and retaken 125 square kilometres in Donetsk region during Operation Vivaldi. The offensive combines ground advances with strikes on Russian air defences, radars, command posts, and a UAV production site.

Ukraine is reporting fresh territorial gains in Donetsk region under an offensive it calls Operation Vivaldi, with claims of both liberated settlements and disrupted Russian military assets.

Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, said Ukrainian forces have liberated Shandryholove and Derylove and established full control over Drobysheve in Donetsk region. He described these gains as part of Operation Vivaldi.

According to Biletsky, across the first two phases of the operation 125 square kilometres have been returned to Ukrainian control, including 50 square kilometres of previously occupied territory. Ukrainian reporting also cites a liberated area figure of 43.5 square kilometres, reflecting the latest phase of advances within the broader operation.

Ukraine’s General Staff links these ground moves with a series of strikes on Russian military systems. It reported that a Buk‑M3 surface‑to‑air missile system was hit near Ukrainka in Zaporizhzhia region and that a Nebo‑U radar was struck near Balka in Donetsk region. A UAV production site in occupied Siverskodonetsk, a command post near Zoriane, and a separate UAV command post were also reported hit.

The mix of ground advances and attacks on air defence, radar, and command infrastructure is intended to put pressure on Russian forces in multiple ways: by taking territory, disrupting their ability to detect and respond to Ukrainian operations, and targeting assets that support drone and missile activity.

These developments come against a backdrop of intense Russian strikes on Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that during the week Russia fired more than 2,000 attack drones—most of them rocket‑powered—alongside 1,700 aerial bombs and 19 missiles of various types.

The durability of Operation Vivaldi’s gains will depend on whether Ukrainian forces can hold Shandryholove, Derylove, and Drobysheve against any Russian counterattack and continue to degrade key Russian systems nearby.

Sources

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