Ukraine Confirms 'Operation Vivaldi' Counteroffensive Near Lyman, Retakes Up to 85 Square Kilometers

Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps commander Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi confirmed on September 15 an ongoing counteroffensive north of the front-line city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, codenamed 'Operation Vivaldi.' Ukrainian forces cleared Russian infiltrators from roughly 75 square kilometers and de-occupied about 10 square kilometers, retaking the settlements of Novoselivka, Oleksandrivka, and Yarova and the outskirts of Korovyi Yar; independent analysts assessed the true extent of Russian withdrawal at over 200 square kilometers. ISW assessed the operation disrupted Russia's plan for a wide encirclement of Ukraine's Donbas 'Fortress Belt,' dealing a blow to Russia's 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies. Biletskyi said the operation was conducted under 'maximum information silence' and that the disclosed gains represent only the first of Vivaldi's planned four 'seasons.'