Ukraine’s ‘Operation Vivaldi’ Pushes Russian Forces 9 km Back From Zelena Dolyna
Ukraine’s 66th Mechanized Brigade says it has liberated the village of Zelena Dolyna and cleared surrounding forest belts and ravines, pushing Russian troops roughly 9 kilometers to the east. The advance widens a hard-fought foothold and shows how small settlements and tree lines are turning into strategic terrain.
Ukraine’s armed forces are claiming a rare stretch of forward movement on a battlefield that has often seemed frozen. The 66th Mechanized Brigade says it has liberated the village of Zelena Dolyna in an operation dubbed “Vivaldi,” and driven Russian troops about 9 kilometers to the east, clearing a chain of forest belts and ravines along the way.
Footage released by the brigade shows troops moving through damaged structures and tree lines around the settlement. While the exact location was not independently verified at the time of reporting, Ukrainian statements describe a methodical push that went beyond simply raising a flag over a village. Soldiers say they cleared multiple wooded strips and gullies leading to Zelena Dolyna and continuing beyond it, forcing Russian units to pull back deeper into the countryside.
This kind of advance matters less for its map label and more for the terrain it unlocks. Forest belts and ravines in eastern Ukraine have become natural fortifications, providing cover for infantry and ambush positions for anti-tank teams. Securing a linked set of them gives Ukrainian forces better observation points, more secure supply tracks, and a buffer that complicates Russian efforts to shell the newly retaken settlement directly.
For civilians, even a small shift like this can spell the difference between living inside an artillery fan and lying just behind it. Villages on the edge of contact lines often see schools and clinics closed, roads cratered, and fields mined. Pushing Russian positions 9 kilometers further east could reduce shelling risk for Zelena Dolyna’s residents if they return, and it makes it easier for humanitarian teams and utility workers to re-enter once the immediate fighting moves on.
Operationally, the reported advance suggests Ukraine is still looking for opportunities to unbalance Russian lines by attacking salients and weak seams rather than trying to punch through heavily fortified sectors head-on. Clearing wooded strips and ravines is slow, high-risk work that demands small-unit cohesion and reliable reconnaissance — often from drones that must survive Russian jamming and small-arms fire.
The Russian Ministry of Defense had not issued a detailed account of the situation at Zelena Dolyna at the time of the Ukrainian announcement. Russian channels, however, have boasted of progress elsewhere, including claims of eliminating a Ukrainian “Kharkiv pocket” after taking control of Nikolayevka and Varvarovka in the region. That back-and-forth underlines a broader pattern: localized gains by one side are frequently matched by claims of counter-gains on another stretch of the front, keeping the frontline jagged and fluid.
Strategically, each successful Ukrainian advance, even on the scale of a village and a few kilometers, helps maintain Kyiv’s argument to Western backers that military aid can change ground realities. Battlefield footage from operations like Vivaldi will circulate in the same capitals where Zelensky is asking for more Patriot missiles and less restrictive rules on systems like Starlink. The images offer a visual answer to those wondering what Ukraine can still achieve under current constraints.
The next indicators to watch are whether Ukraine can consolidate this new line — building defensive positions in the cleared forest belts, demining access roads, and bringing up logistics support — and whether Russian forces choose to counterattack or settle into more defensible terrain further east. Satellite imagery and future contact reports will show if Zelena Dolyna becomes a stable rear village or another staging point in a rolling fight along a contested strip of countryside.
Sources
- OSINT