Zelenskyy met with Biletskyi and discussed fourth phase of Operation "Vivaldi". VIDEO
At the 3rd Army Corps command post, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with service members carrying out Operation "Vivaldi", including corps commander Andrii Biletskyi.
The president reported this on social media, according to Censor.NET.
Meeting with Biletskyi
Corps commander Biletskyi reported on the operation’s interim results.
"This is a major operation, important in many ways for our defence overall and for Donbas in particular. Over its three phases, Ukraine’s Defence Forces have thwarted Russian plans to break through to the rear of the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk urban area and stabilised the situation in this part of the front. Russia has lost more than 5,000 killed and wounded, while another 250 occupiers have been added to our pool of prisoners available for exchange. Since the start of the offensive, a total of 176 square kilometres of territory have been returned to Ukrainian control," Zelenskyy said.
Control has been restored over Novoselivka, Oleksandrivka, Yarova, Drobysheve, Karpivka, Novomykhailivka and the outskirts of Korovyi Yar. Serednie, Shandryholove, Derylove, Ridkodub and Katerynivka have been liberated, and the enemy hub at Nove on the bridgehead has been captured.
New phase of Operation "Vivaldi"
One feature of Operation "Vivaldi" has been the use of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for sabotage operations. In particular, a tactic was used in which single-use grenade launchers were mounted on kamikaze UGVs. The "Griffin" tactic, involving the deployment of UGVs by heavy bomber drones, was also introduced.
"I also spoke with the commanders of units directly involved in the operation. We discussed their needs in detail, particularly artillery, as well as service pay. A very promising approach now is to replace our service members with unmanned ground systems wherever possible. During ‘Vivaldi’, this element made it possible to accomplish a great deal. We will expand its use so that drones, rather than service members, carry out the most dangerous tasks on the front as often as possible," Zelenskyy added.
The president awarded 20 service members the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Third Class, and the Order for Courage, Second and Third Classes. He also congratulated them ahead of Ukraine’s Defenders Day.
