Over the past week, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continued offensive operations in the northern part of Donetsk region as part of the first phase of Operation "Vivaldi". This was stated by Pyotr Horbatenko, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Third Army Corps, on air of the "Suspilne Studia" TV channel. According to him, the corps' fighters and other units operating on the Lyman direction are increasing the pace of their advance, while the Russian army's losses — killed, wounded and captured — "exceed expectations".
Liberated and cleared settlements
Horbatenko confirmed that Ukrainian military managed to fully liberate and take control of the settlement of Serednee, as well as clear Korovy Yar, Novosilivka, Yarova and Oleksandrivka. In addition to officially confirmed locations, he reported the clearing of Rai-Oleksandrivka and a number of other settlements, the names of which, he said, are not disclosed for tactical reasons. "There are still liberated villages, but we do not name them because we cannot afford to take advantage of the enemy's stupidity and his self-deception. So for now we have to keep some things secret," the deputy corps commander emphasized. In his assessment, the total area of liberated territory exceeds the area of the city of Zhytomyr.
State of the enemy and Russian tactics
According to Horbatenko's assessment, Russian units on this section of the front are "broken and disorganized". The commander noted that the enemy is trying to close the breakthrough by transferring special forces units, which, he said, "are being ground to meat, achieving no success". Overall, the tactics of the Russian troops, as he described, do not change: infantry assaults and massive missile and bomb strikes on rear areas, primarily on large settlements in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions — Izium, Balaklia, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk. Aviation and "Shahed" drones are being used.
Contradictory data
The provided materials lack independent verification of the claimed territorial gains: all information about the liberation of specific settlements and the scale of enemy losses comes exclusively from the statement of one Ukrainian military commander. The Russian side, in available sources, neither confirms nor refutes these claims. Moreover, some of the settlements allegedly cleared during the operation are deliberately not named, which makes it impossible to externally verify the completeness of the list. Thus, the factual picture of combat operations on the Lyman direction at the current moment remains one-sided.
Prospects of the operation
Horbatenko stated that in the near future the command of the Third Army Corps intends to publish additional details on the progress of Operation "Vivaldi" and updated data on its results. "What was announced is one figure, it will increase over time," he noted, emphasizing that the advance continues and new results will be reported as they are recorded. Operation "Vivaldi", launched by the Third Army Corps in the northern part of Donetsk region, remains one of the key offensive directions of the Defense Forces at this stage of the conflict.
