Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps launched Operation Vivaldi in May on the Donbas front to impede Russian plans to encircle Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the Kyiv Independent reported Oct. 26.
The Kyiv Independent said the operation was conducted covertly in the Lyman and Sviatohirsk sectors, where Ukrainian forces sought stronger defensive positions. By Oct. 14, the corps said its forces had regained 277 square kilometers and 16 settlements, figures detailed in EconoTimes’ earlier report on the territorial gains.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Vivaldi defeated the northern arm of Russia’s planned encirclement. Brig. Gen. Andriy Biletskyi said the corps aimed to stop a Russian flanking move and keep the Kharkiv-Sloviansk highway open as a logistics route. He also said the operation prompted a Russian redeployment that eased pressure near Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi.
