The Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps has finished the third stage of Operation Vivaldi, securing 51 sq km of territory in the Lyman sector of Donetsk Oblast. Commander Andrii Biletskyi announced the liberation of the villages of Nove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka, as well as the recovery of Karpivka and Novomykhailivka, bringing total territorial gains to 176 sq km since the start of the offensive. The corps reported capturing more than 250 Russian prisoners of war, including pilots and artillery officers, by utilizing roboticized BTR-60 kamikaze drones and deception to divert Russian reserves toward Shandryholove, though independent analyst @amk_mapping_ estimates only about 90 detainees based on available footage.

These advances have pushed Russian forces nearly 9 km away from the eastern outskirts of Lyman and effectively stalled Russia's planned assault on the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk urban area. Russian military bloggers attribute the collapse to a 'culture of lying' and inflated reports that left regional command unaware of Ukrainian movements. Ukraine is currently sustaining the offensive by using drone teams to target ammo and fuel trucks up to 120 km behind the Russian lines of contact.