Ukrainian Defense Forces have achieved important battlefield results in the Lyman axis in Donetsk region under Operation “Vivaldi,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, adding that Ukrainian units have killed or wounded about 10,660 Russian military personnel across the front this week.
In a statement published on Telegram Sept. 27, Zelensky said he had received a report from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Mykhailo Drapatyi. He also pointed to results achieved by the Air Assault Forces grouping in another active defense operation, without giving further details.
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“The destruction of the occupier continues, and the set objectives are being achieved,” Zelensky said, adding that every Russian loss was backed by video confirmation.
Kyiv Post could not independently verify Russian casualty figures.
Fighting remains heaviest in Donetsk region
The Donetsk region is particularly critical because Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military objective is mainly to seize the rest of Donbas, which consists of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The Kremlin has long demanded full control of the regions as preconditions for any possible settlement.
Ukraine, however, categorically rejects giving up its territory and sovereignty as a prerequisite for peace, although it frequently calls on Russia to agree to an unconditional ceasefire.
According to Zelensky’s latest statement, the currently most intense fighting is taking place in the Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka and Lyman axes, while Ukrainian troops are also carrying out combat operations in the Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
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The General Staff of the AFU earlier reported 221 combat clashes along the front, stating that Russian forces had launched 26 attacks in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka axes and 12 in the Lyman axis.
In the Lyman axis, Russian forces reportedly tried to advance toward Novoselivka, Drobysheve, Lyman, Dibrova, Stavky and Chernechshyna.
“Every such week at the front that becomes ours, Ukrainian… prevents Russia from launching greater offensive activity against Ukraine,” Zelensky said while expressing particular gratitude for this week’s results to soldiers of the 3rd Army Corps and the 68th Separate Airmobile Brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush of the 8th Corps of the Air Assault Forces.
Together with Drapatyi, he had agreed on further operational steps.
What Operation ‘Vivaldi’ really is
The 3rd Army Corps, commanded by Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, publicly announced the operation on Sept. 15 after weeks of strict information silence.
Its stated aims include pushing back Russian forces, dismantling their infiltration tactics and disrupting their supply lines.
In its first phase, the Ukrainian military cleared Russian infiltration pockets around Novoselivka, Yarova, Koroviahyi Yar and Oleksandrivka and liberated the village of Serednie, which Biletsky described as a “shaping, preparatory phase.”
Biletsky has hinted that more is yet to come. “Vivaldi, as everyone knows, has four seasons. This is the first of them,” he said according to Ukrainska Pravda.
On Sept. 20, Ukrainian Defense Forces announced the results of the second phase by saying that they had liberated Shandryholove and Derylove and established full control over Drobysheve. Across both phases, the corps said it had recovered 125 square kilometers (48 square miles) of territory including 50 square kilometers (19 square miles) formally de-occupied.
Russian forces reportedly lost around 800 soldiers in the second phase and more than 3,000 across both phases combined.
Russia eyes new mobilization
The gains near Lyman come as Kyiv warns that Moscow is preparing to replenish its forces with a new wave of mobilization.
In August, Ukrainian intelligence said the Russian General Staff had drawn up plans to mobilize 600,000 people, with 300,000 in 2026 and another 300,000 in 2027.
According to Ukraine’s Presidential Office of Ukraine, Russia lost around 240,000 personnel between January and July, while only 232,000 people signed contracts with the Russian military during the same period.
Meanwhile, Putin has consistently denied that Russia is preparing another mobilization campaign.
Russia last announced a mobilization in September 2022, when Putin ordered a call-up of 300,000 reservists, triggering widespread protests and mass departure of draft-age men from the country.
Earlier on Sunday, Zelensky said Russia launched more than 2,200 drones, about 1,650 guided aerial bombs (KABs) and at least 38 missiles at Ukraine this week.
He also called on China, India and other major non-Western powers – which portray themselves as neutral in the war – to take a stronger stance on Russia and its war against Ukraine.