Ukraine's Third Army Corps says more than 250 Russian troops surrendered during the third phase of its counteroffensive near Lyman in northern Donetsk Oblast — an operation Kyiv has dubbed "Vivaldi" — in what would be one of the largest single bursts of mass surrender of the war. CNN reported the claim on Friday; the network said it could not independently verify the surrender video or the figure, but the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has independently confirmed the territorial gains Ukraine attributes to the operation.
Corps commander Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi said Ukrainian forces recaptured five settlements — Nove, Ridkodub, Katerynivka, Karpivka and Novomykhailivka — and retook 51 square kilometers in the latest phase, bringing the operation's claimed total to 176 square kilometers since it began in mid-September. He described Russian troops surrendering "by entire sub-units," including officers, pilots and artillerymen, and said the prisoners could eventually be exchanged for Ukrainians held by Russia.
Independent monitors back the battlefield reversal
ISW's September 29 assessment states that the Russian Defense Ministry "continues attempts to falsely assert control over settlements in the Lyman direction that Ukrainian forces liberated during Operation Vivaldi." The institute analyzed footage Russia released on September 29 purporting to show its troops in Ridkodub, Novomykhailivka and Nove and concluded it was old — likely filmed when Russian forces first seized the settlements in 2025 — noting that a Russian military blogger spotted a standing telephone pole in the Russian footage that Ukrainian footage shows destroyed.
The assessment also records that the Third Army Corps published footage of a large group of Russian prisoners of war on September 28 and reported capturing over 250 prisoners across the operation's first three phases. Notably, pro-Russian figures acknowledged the footage: former Ukrainian separatist politician Oleg Tsaryov called the Russian Defense Ministry's refusal to acknowledge it "outrageous," saying Russian "mothers and wives" were searching Ukrainian video releases for their relatives.
CNN further reported that ISW calculated Russia lost 256 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in September while seizing only 175 — a net reversal — with Operation Vivaldi accounting for roughly 150 square kilometers of the Ukrainian gains. Even the prominent pro-Kremlin military blogger Rybar has complained about the "deteriorating" situation, saying Russian troops would be forced to reorganize logistics and adjust their advance toward Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.
Robots behind the lines
The operation has drawn attention for Ukraine's use of unmanned systems. According to the Third Army Corps, Ukrainian forces airdropped ground robots equipped with heavy guns more than 10 kilometers behind Russian lines — the first known case of land drones being smuggled behind Russian defenses — and converted old Soviet-era BTR armored personnel carriers into unmanned explosive vehicles the military calls "Trojan" tanks. Biletskyi said deception was central: Russian commanders were led to expect the main thrust toward Shandryholove and Zelena Dolyna while the real strike hit Nove, a height-controlling hub whose capture unlocked movement along the Lyman axis.
President Volodymyr Zelensky put the operation's gains higher still — 176 square kilometers and 5,000 Russian troops killed or wounded since the operation started — figures that, like the prisoner count, are Ukrainian military claims without independent verification. Western intelligence services estimate Russia is losing roughly 40,000 troops a month, according to CNN.
Speaking at the Valdai discussion forum on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Europe and Ukraine fear Kyiv can withstand Russia's advances for only another 18 to 24 months, and suggested Moscow could take the remainder of Donetsk faster. The Vivaldi gains, if sustained, cut against that forecast in the northern Donetsk sector, where Russia's "fortress belt" defenses around Slovyansk and Kramatorsk remain the key obstacle.
The 250-prisoner figure remains a Ukrainian claim that no independent monitor has verified. What is independently established is that Ukraine reversed months of Russian gains around Lyman in September — and that even pro-Kremlin voices now concede the Russian Defense Ministry is not acknowledging it.
