Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps said on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, that Operation Vivaldi liberated three more villages in northern Donetsk Oblast, took more than 250 Russian prisoners, and pushed official gains to 176 square kilometers around Lyman.
Corps commander Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi reported that Ridkodub, Nove, and Katerynivka were freed and that Ukrainian control was restored over Karpivka and Novomykhailivka. The latest “third season” update credits the phase with more than 2,000 Russian losses and another 51 square kilometers retaken.
Operation Vivaldi pushes east toward the Zherebets
Biletskyi’s Sept. 28 video briefing, detailed by The Kyiv Independent, said deception operations convinced Russian commanders that the main thrust was the Shandryholove–Zelena Dolyna axis while the real strike aimed at Nove. He said entire units—including officers, pilots, and artillerymen—surrendered, rejecting the idea that “Russians don’t surrender,” and voiced hope of swapping captives for Ukrainians held by Moscow.
Operation Vivaldi was only named publicly on Sept. 15 after months of quiet fighting tracked by open-source analysts and Russian military blogs. Earlier updates on Sept. 15 and Sept. 20 announced the liberation of Shandryholove and Derylove as the first two “seasons.”
Drones, ground robots, and a shrinking salient
The corps says success came from suppressing Russian drones and logistics and from using technology creatively, including modified Soviet-era armored personnel carriers as kamikaze ground drones. The offensive targets a Russian salient built over the past year—one of two pincers that threatened to encircle remaining Ukrainian positions in the Lyman sector.
Those frontline gains land as long-range strikes continue on both sides. The Boston Report recently covered Russian strikes on Kyiv data centers and Ukraine’s overnight hit on Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery, underscoring how the war still runs on parallel tracks of attrition and deep strikes.
Why this offensive stands out
Battlefield lines have shifted little for much of the past year as drone “kill zones” freeze troop movement. ABC News noted Monday that Ukraine’s Third Army Corps claim of another 51 square kilometers brings total Vivaldi gains to 176 square kilometers since the push began. Russia’s Defense Ministry, for its part, claimed captures of Novovodiane in Donetsk and Ulanove in Sumy—assertions that remain contested.
Diplomatic backdrop stays frozen
U.S.-led talks have not produced a breakthrough, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly that Moscow will fight “to the end,” a line also reflected in Germany’s rare UN confrontation with Lavrov. For Kyiv, Vivaldi is a rare public showcase of offensive success despite manpower and air disadvantages. For Moscow, confirming or denying the map changes will shape how both sides enter winter negotiations—or another season of grinding combat.