WAR·Orientyr
DigestDashboardMapsStrikesArticles
← Back

Lyman front · Donetsk region · Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps

Operation Vivaldi

Between May and October 2026, Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps cut off a russian salient north of Lyman in four stages, breaking the northern arm of a russian pincer aimed at encircling Ukrainian-held Donbas. The corps reports 277 km² regained; the independent DeepState map, which counts only changes in occupied territory, shows about 155 km².

Issue of Wed, 21 October 2026Data as of
Map of Operation Vivaldi: the area north of Lyman with the front line, lines of attack and liberated villages
regained — per the 3rd Army Corps
277 km²
per DeepState — change in occupied area only
≈155 km²
settlements, 9 of them liberated
16
22.05 → 14.10.2026, four stages
145 days

In brief

  • A pincer brokenrussia’s northern push (Lyman → Sviatohirsk → Barvinkove) was stopped and the Kharkiv–Sloviansk highway held. Moscow pulled part of its 1st Guards Tank Army from Kupiansk to plug the gap.
  • The blow fell elsewhererussia massed reserves near Shandryholove; the main strike went in at Nove.
  • Almost four months of silenceThe first assault came on 22.05; the first public report only on 15.09, as stage 1 was ending.
  • Machines ahead of infantryGround robots (UGVs), BTR-60 carriers turned into remote kamikaze vehicles, and electronic warfare that, by the corps’ count, foiled some 20,000 russian drone missions.

Phase by phase

Pick a phase — the map and the description change together

7 / 7 · Stage 4

Turn your phone sideways for a bigger map.

  1. 1Behind the 20th Army’s lines: from Kolodiazi to the outskirts of Zarichne
  2. 2Approximate: Lypove → Zelena Dolyna
  3. 3Approximate: Zelena Dolyna → Kolodiazi
  4. 4russia moves part of the 1st Guards Tank Army from the Kupiansk front
  • Ukrainian strike
  • Approximate / ISW line
  • russian moves
  • Where russia expected the blow
  • Liberated
  • Cleared, control restored
  • Front line and occupied area (DeepState)
  • Front line in the previous phase
  • Regained in this phase
  • Status unknown
  • Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom.

14.10.2026 · announced

Stage 4: Zelena Dolyna, Lypove, Kolodiazi

Zelena Dolyna, Lypove and Kolodiazi were liberated — another 101 km². Near Kolodiazi the advance reached the rear of the 20th Army towards Zarichne. To close the breach, russia’s “West” group of forces moved part of the 1st Guards Tank Army to Lyman from the Kupiansk front. On 15 October the “Tin” (“Shadow”) group of the 125th Heavy Mechanised Brigade destroyed a russian group infiltrating along a tree line near Zelena Dolyna. In total: 277 km² and 16 settlements.

km² regained, cumulative (3rd Corps)
277
settlements, cumulative
16
enemy losses in the stage*
≈3,000
prisoners in the stage
—
Ukraine125th Heavy Mech Bde3rd Army Corps
russia1st Guards Tank Army (elements)144th MRD25th CAA
  • Ukrainian strike
  • Approximate / ISW line
  • russian moves
  • Where russia expected the blow
  • Liberated
  • Cleared, control restored
  • Front line and occupied area (DeepState)
  • Front line in the previous phase
  • Regained in this phase
  • Status unknown
  • Drag to rotate; scroll or pinch to zoom.

Enemy losses are the 3rd Army Corps’ figures and have not been independently verified. Ukrainian losses have not been made public.

Claimed vs measured

The corps also counts ground cleared of russian infiltrators; DeepState counts only the change in occupied territory within the map of the operation (≈44 × 34 km). The gap reflects different methods, not a contradiction.

3rd Army Corps, cumulativeDeepState, cumulative

Stage 115.09.202685≈9
Stage 220.09.2026125≈35
Stage 328.09.2026176≈76
Stage 414.10.2026277≈155
DeepState: occupied within the map 487 km² (21.05.2026) → 332 km² (14.10.2026). Snapshots taken at the end of each phase’s date.

16 settlements

liberatedcontrol restored, cleared

Stage 1 · 15.09.2026

  • Serednie
  • Novoselivka
  • Oleksandrivka
  • Yarova
  • Korovii Yar

Stage 2 · 20.09.2026

  • Shandryholove
  • Derylove
  • Drobysheve

Stage 3 · 28.09.2026

  • Nove
  • Ridkodub
  • Katerynivka
  • Karpivka
  • Novomykhailivka

Stage 4 · 14.10.2026

  • Zelena Dolyna
  • Lypove
  • Kolodiazi

Why it matters

Vivaldi broke the northern arm of a russian pincer aimed at encircling the part of Donbas Ukraine still holds (Lyman → Sviatohirsk → Barvinkove) and kept the Kharkiv–Sloviansk highway open. To plug the breach, russia moved part of its 1st Guards Tank Army from the Kupiansk front, after which pressure on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi eased. Within the map of the operation, DeepState’s occupied area shrank from 487 to 332 km² — by about a third.

The operation was run by the 3rd Army Corps under Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, with the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade leading the main assaults. It was kept quiet for almost four months: the first strike came on 22 May, the first public report only on 15 September.

How the operation was built

  1. Deep strikes to 50 km, then 120 km Corps drones hit fuel, depots, command posts and drone operators. A fuel pipeline into occupied Luhansk region was stopped; rear units of russia’s 144th Motor Rifle Division pulled back to Voronezh region.
  2. Air superiority for its own drones An electronic-warfare system (“Protective Dome”, as NV calls it) foiled about 20,000 russian drone missions, by the corps’ count. Short of fuel, russian units lacked generators to run their own jammers.
  3. Information silence from May to 15 September The operation went unannounced for almost four months. Biletskyi gave the first public report when stage 1 was already ending.
  4. From clearing to offensive It began by eliminating russian infiltration and the 20th Army’s bridgehead on the Nitrius, then grew into an offensive.
  5. Machines ahead of the infantry Ground robots carried supplies and cleared mines; BTR-60s converted into kamikaze vehicles broke strongpoints. Assault groups approached through ravines and gullies while separate groups covered the flanks.
  6. Deception: the blow fell elsewhere russia took Shandryholove – Zelena Dolyna for the main axis and burned its reserves there in counter-attacks. The real strike was prepared at Nove, where the surrounding heights give the initiative on the bridgehead.

Forces on both sides

Ukraine’s Defence Forces

  • Emblem: 3rd Army Corps
    3rd Army Corps Commanded the operation. Commander: Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi; deputy: Maj. Maksym Zhorin.
  • Emblem: 3rd Separate Assault Brigade
    3rd Separate Assault Brigade The main assaults: Nove on 22.05 and in stage 3; mobile groups.
  • Emblem: 60th Separate Mechanised Brigade
    60th Separate Mechanised Brigade Supported the 22.05 strike at Nove; part of the operation’s force.
  • Emblem: 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade
    66th Separate Mechanised Brigade Supported the strike at Nove; its tank battalion’s UGVs and Darts strike drones.
  • Emblem: 125th Separate Heavy Mechanised Brigade
    125th Separate Heavy Mechanised Brigade The “Tin” (“Shadow”) group: tree line near Zelena Dolyna, 15.10.
  • Emblem: 3rd Border Guard Detachment, named after Yevhenii Pikus
    3rd Border Guard Detachment, named after Yevhenii Pikus Restored full control over Ridkodub in stage 3.
  • Emblem: 10th Mobile Border Guard Detachment “Dozor”
    10th Mobile Border Guard Detachment “Dozor” Special forces, stage 3.
  • Drone units and others 21st Separate Unmanned Systems Battalion “KRAKEN 1654”, K-2 Unmanned Systems Battalion, Special Operations Centre “A”, 3rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, 25th Separate Assault Battalion, tactical groups of the 8th Special Operations Regiment, National Guard’s “Lasar’s Group”, 96th Separate Support Battalion (UGVs). Their sectors were not disclosed.

russian forces

  • 20th Guards Combined Arms Army Held the salient north of Lyman. According to unconfirmed reports (ISW, 16.09), its commander, Lt Gen Roman Yurchenko, was removed.
  • Emblem: 144th Motor Rifle Division (20th Army)
    144th Motor Rifle Division (20th Army) 488th and 254th Motor Rifle Regiments. Lyman and Borova fronts; rear units withdrawn to Voronezh region; the regiments are due to be rotated out before winter.
  • Emblem: 3rd Motor Rifle Division (20th Army)
    3rd Motor Rifle Division (20th Army) 99th Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment and 217th (possibly 237th) Tank Regiment on the Lyman front — per Mashovets, ISW 16.09.
  • Emblem: 25th Combined Arms Army
    25th Combined Arms Army Crossed the Zherebets near Torske and pushed into Lyman; operates east and south-east of the town.
  • 1st Guards Tank Army (elements) Moved from the Kupiansk front to Lyman in October, after which pressure on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi eased.
  • “Rubikon” drone unit russia’s elite drone unit; operated on the Lyman–Borova front, withdrawn on 18.09 after losses (per NV).
  • “West” group of forces Overall command in this sector.

About the map

Base map of Ukraine under the 3D map: borders and the Dnipro from Natural Earth (1:50m), with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine; the nationwide front line is not shown. The map is schematic. Terrain is not shown, as elevation data were not available. The Siverskyi Donets and Oskil rivers are from Natural Earth (1:10m); the Nitrius and Zherebets are marked by labels only. Circles around villages are notional zones of about 1.5 km radius. The front line, occupied territory and grey zone (“status unknown”) are from DeepState, snapshot at the end of each phase’s date, simplified to ≈50 m. By DeepState’s count, about 155 km² was regained within the map over the four stages; the corps reports 277 km² because it also counts ground cleared of infiltrators. Solid arrows are directions described in the sources; dashed ones are approximate, inferred from the order of liberation or from ISW’s “lines of advance”. A dashed unit frame means the sources give only a sector, and the point on the map is notional. Numbers of assault groups, companies and battalions within brigades have not been published. Stage dates are the dates of the 3rd Army Corps’ official announcements; OSINT analysts recorded some advances earlier. Map labels are in Ukrainian. Data as of 17 October 2026.

Sources 24

Sources