Third Army Corps completes third stage of "Vivaldi" operation, retaking 51 km² near Lyman
Ukraine's Third Army Corps has completed the third stage of operation "Vivaldi" on the Lyman direction in Donetsk Oblast, liberating several settlements and returning 51 km² of territory under Ukrainian control, according to corps commander Andriy Biletsky. Since the start of the operation, Ukrainian forces have retaken a total of 176 km², with Russian losses reported at 2,000 personnel and more than 250 prisoners.
Key points
- Third stage of operation "Vivaldi" completed on the Lyman direction in Donetsk Oblast, announced 28 September by Third Army Corps commander Andriy Biletsky.
- Settlements of Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka were liberated; Karpivka and Novomykhailivka were brought back under Ukrainian control.
- Third stage returned 51 km² of territory; cumulative total since the start of "Vivaldi" is 176 km².
- Russian losses during the operation reached 2,000 personnel, with more than 250 captured as prisoners of war.
- Nove was described by Biletsky as the "key hub of the enemy on the bridgehead," and he said the settlement's heights determine who holds the initiative there.
- Biletsky said Russia expected the main Ukrainian strike to be toward Shandryholove — Zelena Dolyna and wasted reserves in counterattacks on that axis.
- For breaching Russian fortifications, the Third Army Corps used Soviet-era BTR-60 vehicles converted into robotic kamikaze complexes (NRK).
Why it matters
The third stage marks a reported turning point in Ukraine's push on the Lyman axis in northern Donetsk Oblast, with cumulative retaken territory now totaling 176 km² since operation "Vivaldi" began. Reported Russian losses of 2,000 personnel and more than 250 prisoners, combined with Biletsky's account of whole subunits surrendering with their officers, point to significant degradation of Russian forces and reported breakdowns in command and morale on this axis.
What happened
Commander of Ukraine's Third Army Corps Andriy Biletsky announced on the morning of 28 September that the third stage of operation "Vivaldi" on the Lyman direction in Donetsk Oblast had been completed. During this stage, the Third Army Corps liberated the settlements of Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka, and restored control over Karpivka and Novomykhailivka. Biletsky described Nove as the "key hub of the enemy on the bridgehead" and said whoever controls the heights around it holds the initiative there.
Fifty-one square kilometres of territory were returned under Ukrainian control during the third stage, bringing the cumulative total since the start of "Vivaldi" to 176 km². Biletsky reported Russian losses of 2,000 personnel during the operation, with more than 250 captured as prisoners of war. He said Russians had surrendered in whole subunits along with their officers, pilots and artillerymen, and that Russian command had been misled into expecting the main Ukrainian thrust toward Shandryholove — Zelena Dolyna, wasting their reserves in counterattacks on that axis. To breach Russian fortifications, the Third Army Corps used Soviet-era BTR-60 vehicles converted into robotic kamikaze complexes (NRK).
Analysts from the DeepState project updated their combat map on the morning of 28 September, marking Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka as liberated on the Lyman direction and indicating that Ukrainian forces had also restored control near Novomykhailivka and Lypove. The State Border Guard Service reported that the village of Karpivka had been retaken by the "Sribna Triyka" subunit of the Pomsta brigade together with the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. Biletsky described the third stage as having pivotal significance for the entire "Vivaldi" operation.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources center the story on the Third Army Corps and its commander Andriy Biletsky, presenting "Vivaldi" as a continuing Ukrainian success. DeepState's map updates are cited as independent confirmation of territorial gains, and the State Border Guard Service is highlighted as a co-participant in retaking Karpivka, broadening the institutional framing beyond the army alone. Biletsky's claims about Russian disorientation, mass surrenders of whole subunits, and the use of converted BTR-60 kamikaze complexes are reported prominently without visible skepticism in the supplied material.
How international sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian-language and Ukrainian-based, so no comparative observation of international coverage is possible from this set.
Background
Operation "Vivaldi" has unfolded in three stages announced on 15, 20 and 28 September. First-stage results, announced on 15 September, included the clearing of Novoselivka, Oleksandrivka, Yarova and the outskirts of Koroviy Yar, and the de-occupation of Serednie, with 75 km² cleared and 10 km² de-occupied reported at that point. Second-stage results, announced on 20 September, included the liberation of Shandryholove and Derylove and full control over Drobysheve, with 125 km² returned and 50 km² de-occupied.
On 21 September it became known that during "Vivaldi" fighters of the Third Army Corps had destroyed a Russian pipeline covering about half of the occupiers' diesel fuel needs in Luhansk Oblast. On 18 September the corps reported that Russia's elite Rubicon UAV unit had been withdrawn from the Lyman-Borivsky direction due to significant losses. On 25 September President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Lyman operation was not yet complete but noted positive dynamics. ISW analysts wrote that the operation disrupted Russian attempts to encircle Ukraine's belt of fortress cities in Donbas.
Units that took part in the operation include the 60th and 66th Separate Mechanized Brigades, the 125th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade, a battalion tactical group of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, the 21st Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment "Kraken", the 3rd Separate Reconnaissance and 25th Separate Anti-Tank Battalions of the corps, the 85th Tactical Group of the 8th SSO Regiment, the HUR special unit "Artan" and the 10th Mobile Border Detachment "Dozor". The State Border Guard Service also reported participation by the "Sribna Triyka" subunit of the Pomsta brigade together with the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade.