Elimination of Russian bridgehead in north of Donetsk region has thwarted Russian Federation’s offensive plans not only for 2026 but also for early 2027, – said Horbatenko, Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Corps
The elimination of the Russian occupiers’ bridgehead on the western bank of the Chornyi Zherebets River as part of Operation ‘Vivaldi’ has thwarted the enemy’s strategic plan to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east.
This was stated by Petro Gorbatenko, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Third Army Corps, during an interview with journalist Iryna Romaliiska on the YouTube channel "Butusov.Plus", reports Censor.NET.
Thwarting the encirclement and the advance into other regions
"This was one of the enemy’s flanks – part of the enemy groupings intended to encircle the entire urban area, converge south of Izium and thus win the battle for the Donbas, which would have given them a strategic advantage in subsequent operations in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Poltava regions — possibly in conjunction with strikes from the north. Consequently, this thwarts the enemy’s plans not only for 2026 but possibly also for early 2027, as the enemy will now have to seek alternative ways to carry out its plan," said the military official.
Debunking the myth of Russia’s ‘might’
Furthermore, the successful liberation of territories by Ukrainian defenders has demonstrated that the Russian army’s positions are not as strong as they claim.
"And so they (the Russians – ed.) are, accordingly, unable to carry out the kind of active offensive operations with which they are terrifying the whole world and, perhaps, even mesmerising some with their feigned might. But, as we can see, even without deploying special resources to carry out operations, it is possible to defeat the enemy — not just to stop them, but to rout them and liberate the territory," added Horbatenko.
What is known about Operation ‘Vivaldi’ and the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive in northern Donetsk Oblast
- The Ukrainian military carried out an offensive operation in the north of the Donetsk region in the Lyman area. Defence forces managed to liberate the village of Seredne and clear Novoselivka, Oleksandrivka, Yarova and Koroviy Yar of Russian infantry.
- The ‘Vivaldi’ offensive operation involved units from the 60th Separate Mechanised Brigade, the 125th Separate Heavy Mechanised Brigade, a battalion tactical group from the 3rd Assault Brigade, the corps’ 3rd Separate Reconnaissance and 25th Separate Anti-Tank Battalions, the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade, the 85th Tactical Group of the 8th Special Operations Regiment, the Main Intelligence Directorate’s special unit "Artan", and the 10th Border Guard Detachment "Dozor".
