The threat to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk persists despite the success of Operation Vivaldi — DeepState
Operation “Vivaldi” by the Ukrainian Defense Forces succeeded in pushing back Russian troops and liberating significant territories north of Lyman. At the same time, the threat to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk metropolitan area remains, as Russian troops are attempting to find new directions for their advance.
Roman Pogorily, co-founder of the analytical project DeepState, stated this in an interview with Ukrainian Radio.
According to the analyst, during Operation “Vivaldi,” Ukrainian forces managed to eliminate the Russian salient north of Lyman. Previously, the enemy had attempted to redeploy resources there in the Shandryholove area, as well as to advance through the forested areas near Yampil and Zarichne.
The situation was stabilized thanks to the deployment of the Third Army Corps. Pogorily called the operation a success on a tactical level and noted that the Defense Forces took advantage of the enemy’s depleted resources to push them back.
At the same time, after losing positions north of Lyman, Russian troops began looking for opportunities to advance southward. In particular, fighting continues for Rai-Oleksandrivka—an important settlement on the outskirts of Sloviansk.
According to the co-founder of DeepState, it is still too early to say that the threat to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk metropolitan area has been eliminated.
Separately, Pogorily commented on the situation in the Kupiansk sector. According to him, Operation “Veles” has partially helped resolve the issue of Russian military infiltration into Kupiansk. However, so-called gray zones remain in the area, and attempts by Russian units to infiltrate continue.
The analyst emphasized that the Ukrainian military continues to detect and eliminate the enemy, but the situation could escalate again.
He also drew attention to the complex situation near Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia sector. According to him, Russian troops are gradually building up their forces there and attempting to approach Ukrainian positions through forest belts.
Source: Ukrainian Radio
Operation “Vivaldi” and other counteroffensive actions by Ukrainian forces in 2026 enabled Ukraine to seize the operational initiative along the entire front line and effectively halt the Russian army’s advance. This was reported by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), who also stated that a large Russian division was destroyed during the operation.
The Third Army Corps released footage from the action cameras of soldiers who participated in the fourth phase of Operation “Vivaldi.” As a result of a successful maneuver by Ukrainian forces, Russian occupiers were surrounded, suffered casualties, and were forced to retreat en masse or surrender.
The Third Army Corps and its attached units liberated three more settlements—Zelena Dolyna, Lypove, and Kolodyazi. According to Corps Commander Andriy Biletsky, during this new phase of Operation “Vivaldi,” Ukrainian forces recaptured 101 km² of territory, while the Russian army lost approximately 3,000 soldiers.
