General Andriy Biletskiy announces Ukrainian gains: more than 10 square kilometers liberated in Operation Vivaldi

General Andriy Biletskiy, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, announced on Tuesday that progress had been made in Operation Vivaldi, conducted against Russian forces north of the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region. According to him, Ukrainian troops have liberated more than 10 square kilometers and “cleared” another 75 square kilometers where Russian units were infiltrating.

Biletskiy claimed that the operation had significantly affected the combat capabilities of Russia’s 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies. He attributed the results to the planning and actions of Ukrainian soldiers, but warned that information about the offensive should be treated with discretion.

Several military analysts believe the objective is to reduce a Russian salient approximately 15 kilometers wide, located north of Lyman and about 30 kilometers from Sloviansk. The Institute for the Study of War warned in an analysis dated September 12 that its expansion could allow Russia to attempt the northern encirclement of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the main centers in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. The general suggested that the operation was only in its first stage and called for silence regarding future actions.