Gen. Andriy Biletsky, commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, said the main objective of the third phase of a counteroffensive was to take the settlement of Nove and the surrounding high ground. He described the operation, called Vivaldi, as a month-long effort in the Lyman area of Donetsk region that brought territorial and strategic gains for Ukrainian forces.
Biletsky said Russian forces expected the main attack to come along the Shandryholove–Zelena Dolyna axis and sent reserves there. In his account, that misdirection left those reserves depleted by counterattacks while Ukrainian forces advanced toward their stated objective.
To breach Russian fortifications, the Ukrainian commander said his forces used robotic systems made from Soviet-era BTR-60 armoured personnel carriers. He claimed Ukrainian troops captured more than 250 Russian service members, including entire units that surrendered with officers, artillery personnel and pilots. He estimated Russian losses on the sector at 2,000 troops.
Biletsky put the territory regained during Operation Vivaldi at about 100 square kilometres. He also described what he said had been Russia’s plan to encircle fortified cities from the north and south: the northern axis would run through Sviatohirsk toward Barvinkove and link up with forces advancing from the south through Dobropillia.
The operational account, prisoner figure and casualty estimate in the supplied report are attributed to the Ukrainian corps commander and are not independently verified there. They should therefore be treated as his claims.