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Ukraine's counter-offensive in Donetsk—dubbed "Operation Vivaldi"—is delivering a crushing blow to Russian forces. Spearheaded by the 3rd Army Corps, Act 2 of the operation has liberated key settlements including Shandryholove and Derylove, reclaiming over 125 square kilometers of territory. Utilizing pioneering tactics, Ukrainian forces are air-dropping kamikaze ground robots over 10 kilometers behind enemy lines to shatter Russian defenses ahead of infantry pushes. With thousands of Russian casualties and elite units like Rubicon on the run, Moscow’s grip on the region is rapidly slipping.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Ukraine Counteroffensive Operation Vivaldi Act 2
01:08 - Ukrainian Forces Liberate Drobysheve and Shandryholove
02:18 - Russia 3,000 Casualties in Lyman Sector
03:32 - Russian Army Weekly Losses Top 11,000
04:46 - Ukraine Air-Drops Kamikaze Ground Drones 10km
06:02 - Combined Unmanned Systems and Artillery Strikes
07:18 - Russian Rubicon Elite Drone Unit Defeated
08:34 - General Sviatoslav Zaits Leads Ground Forces
09:50 - Ukraine Liberates 1,000 Square Kilometers Total
11:06 - Kremlin False Claims on Sviatohirsk Capture
12:20 - Donetsk Fortress Belt Defense Shields Sloviansk
13:36 - Russian March 2027 Donbas Target Missed
14:52 - Russia $150 Billion War Budget Deficit
16:08 - Third Army Corps Expands Vivaldi Offensive
17:02 - Is Russia Losing the Donbas Campaign?
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
#militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis
#themilitaryshow
SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/zxWHqvcf
Ukraine's counter-offensive in Donetsk—dubbed "Operation Vivaldi"—is delivering a crushing blow to Russian forces. Spearheaded by the 3rd Army Corps, Act 2 of the operation has liberated key settlements including Shandryholove and Derylove, reclaiming over 125 square kilometers of territory. Utilizing pioneering tactics, Ukrainian forces are air-dropping kamikaze ground robots over 10 kilometers behind enemy lines to shatter Russian defenses ahead of infantry pushes. With thousands of Russian casualties and elite units like Rubicon on the run, Moscow’s grip on the region is rapidly slipping.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Ukraine Counteroffensive Operation Vivaldi Act 2
01:08 - Ukrainian Forces Liberate Drobysheve and Shandryholove
02:18 - Russia 3,000 Casualties in Lyman Sector
03:32 - Russian Army Weekly Losses Top 11,000
04:46 - Ukraine Air-Drops Kamikaze Ground Drones 10km
06:02 - Combined Unmanned Systems and Artillery Strikes
07:18 - Russian Rubicon Elite Drone Unit Defeated
08:34 - General Sviatoslav Zaits Leads Ground Forces
09:50 - Ukraine Liberates 1,000 Square Kilometers Total
11:06 - Kremlin False Claims on Sviatohirsk Capture
12:20 - Donetsk Fortress Belt Defense Shields Sloviansk
13:36 - Russian March 2027 Donbas Target Missed
14:52 - Russia $150 Billion War Budget Deficit
16:08 - Third Army Corps Expands Vivaldi Offensive
17:02 - Is Russia Losing the Donbas Campaign?
Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join
#militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis
#themilitaryshow
SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/zxWHqvcf
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NewsTranscript
00:01It's a bittersweet symphony, and it must feel like the worst of life to Russia right now.
00:07Operation Vivaldi is in full swing, and Act 2 has just arrived.
00:12Kamikaze robots are being airdropped behind Russian lines,
00:16territory is being liberated, and Russian soldiers are going down in the thousands.
00:21The second of four seasons is upon us, and there is nothing that Russia can do about it.
00:26As promised, I am reporting good news, declared the commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, Brigadier General Andrei Beletsky, in
00:34a September 20th statement.
00:36What followed was indeed good news for Ukraine, and an absolute horror show for Russia.
00:41The second season of Operation Vivaldi is upon Russia, and territory is being liberated left and right.
00:47Ground has been retaken, several settlements are firmly back in the hands of Ukraine, Beletsky reports,
00:52and though full details about the operation are being kept firmly under wraps as Ukraine ensures operational security,
00:59we have plenty of news about the outcomes so far, which have reversed 18 months of Russian gains in a
01:04matter of weeks.
01:05Before we go deeper, are you enjoying our reporting? Subscribe and share your thoughts below.
01:10And if you'd like to support the real people behind the channel, consider becoming a member for exclusive content.
01:15We'll start with the Territorian settlements.
01:18Ukraine has liberated the settlements of Derelova and Chandralova, along with gaining full control over the settlement of Drobosheva,
01:25which is in the Liman sector, where Ukraine has been ruining Russian positions for several months now.
01:30Several of these settlements are strategically significant.
01:34Drobosheva is northeast of the key Donetsk fortress belt cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
01:38Whoever holds it has a springboard. For Russia, that springboard enables assaults that bring it closer to the fortress belt.
01:46For Ukraine, the springboard enables deeper pushes against the Russian lines, forcing Putin's soldiers away from the belt.
01:52Chandralova has been noted as a critical point for both our troops and the enemy by Beletsky,
01:58suggesting the settlement also provides access to the fortress belt and could perhaps be used as a logistical hub.
02:03All told, Ukraine has liberated 40 square kilometers of Donetsk and counting during the second act of its brutal symphony.
02:11We don't just have to take Ukraine's word for this either.
02:14As the Kyiv Post points out, all of this has been confirmed by the open source mapping and analysis organization
02:19DeepState.
02:21Its maps tell the story.
02:22As of September 20th, Chandralova and Derelova were under Ukraine's control.
02:27DeepState also notes that Ukraine's forces have secured several tactical positions surrounding Chandralova.
02:33Which may give us some hints about what's to come during the third act of the symphony.
02:38Not that the second act wasn't impressive enough in its own right.
02:41It follows on from a brilliant first act, which saw Ukraine shatter a Russian salient near Liman
02:46and reclaim about 75 square kilometers of territory while regaining several settlements, including Novosilivka, Oleksandrivka and Yurova.
02:54So far, Operation Vivaldi has delivered around 125 square kilometers of territory back into Ukraine's hands.
03:02And this second act is special not just because of its gains, but because of the methods Ukraine used to
03:07make those gains.
03:08The rules of assaults have been rewritten.
03:11Ukraine has been dropping ground robots from the sky onto the Russians.
03:15Before we explore that unique tactic, Russia has suffered painful defeats in more ways than one.
03:20The loss of territory is bad enough.
03:22That will set Putin's plans for Donetsk back by months, if not years.
03:26But even more painful for Russia is that it's losing thousands of soldiers to Operation Vivaldi
03:31and many thousands more across the entire front.
03:34As the Kremlin's only strategy seems to be to smash its way through with meat that Ukraine can easily handle.
03:39The first two acts of Operation Vivaldi have resulted in 3,000 Russian casualties, many of which come from key
03:46Russian armies.
03:47Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps says that Russia's 1st, 20th and 25th Guards Tank armies have all been significantly degraded by
03:54the operation,
03:55meaning they are in no condition to launch any attempt at a counter that might see them reclaim the lost
03:59territory.
04:00Those armies will have to be reconstituted with fresh recruits who have no experience and barely any training.
04:06Russia might be forced to move more experienced soldiers into the Liman sector, taking them away from other regions of
04:11Donetsk where they are needed.
04:13And all the while, Ukraine will be fortifying the territory it's liberated, ensuring that Russia will have to go through
04:18hell if it wants any chance of taking it back.
04:22Expand the scope across the entire front line and Operation Vivaldi is contributing to an awful September for Russia.
04:28That's according to the head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Sector, Colonel Ants Kiviselg.
04:33For the third week in a row, Russia has lost more than 10,000 troops, including both wounded and killed.
04:39This week's average daily losses are around 1,600 troops, meaning that just over 11,000 were lost over the
04:45course of a week, Kiviselg reported on September 18th.
04:49Adding that these losses continue the terrible trend for Russia of losing more soldiers on the battlefield than it's able
04:55to recruit.
04:55Russia is losing territory rapidly and its soldiers are dying in droves.
05:00But to compound it all, Ukraine has brought a new tactic to the battlefield that Russia never expected to see.
05:06Ground drones are being airlifted into combat zones as part of a brilliant new Ukrainian strategy.
05:12Ukraine has used heavy aerial drones for deliveries many times in the past, of course.
05:16Traditionally, those heavy drones have been used to drop off supplies for troops on the ground or as motherships for
05:21small swarms of FPV drones,
05:23which are unleashed and fly straight to Russian targets.
05:26But this is different.
05:27Ground robots loaded with explosives were sent out on kamikaze missions during the second act of Operation Vivaldi,
05:33allowing Ukraine to exploit a complete lack of Russian preparedness.
05:37How could Russia be ready? Nothing like this has ever been done before.
05:41The operation was the first of its kind, and it saw Ukraine deliver robots up to 10 kilometers beyond the
05:46front.
05:47Vilecki confirms this, stating,
05:49The 3rd Army Corps became the first in the world to begin airdropping unmanned ground complexes.
05:54Our heavy bomber drones deliver kamikaze robotic platforms more than 10 kilometers into the enemy's rear.
06:00Once dropped, the robots get to work destroying the Russian rear that could have offered support to the forces attempting
06:06to defend the settlements that Ukraine liberated.
06:08Territory may be won by infantry, but Ukraine's approach is to protect its soldiers first, do damage with machines, and
06:15then send its troops in to mop up and claim settlements.
06:17But the ground robots were just part of a wider strategy.
06:21The true brilliance comes from how Ukraine was able to build a strategy that incorporated its airlifted ground robots into
06:27a much wider and cohesive whole.
06:30Ground robots were combined with unmanned aerial vehicles, which moved ahead of the infantry to shatter the Russian rear and
06:36do damage to defensive positions.
06:39Ukraine also used artillery and unmanned systems to attack Russian logistical facilities, communications hubs, and command posts.
06:46Reserves were hit before they could even get into the fight, and crossings were destroyed to ensure any soldiers in
06:51the rear who survived the initial wave
06:53couldn't deploy to support the Russian soldiers in the occupied settlements.
06:57The infantry followed, its combined warfare done in a way that we've never seen before.
07:02Coming back to the use of kamikaze ground robots, there's yet another layer of brilliance to unfold.
07:07Think about how a ground robot would traditionally navigate to a target. As its name implies, the robot moves on
07:13the ground.
07:13That means it has to negotiate whatever obstacles are in its way, including mines, trenches, roads, hills, and any other
07:20obstacles such as ruined buildings.
07:21All of these barriers would have littered the landscape in the occupied regions of Donetsk that Ukraine targeted with its
07:27second act of Operation Vivaldi.
07:29Now throw explosives into the mix.
07:32Each of these ground robots was loaded with enough firepower to blow holes into Russian positions.
07:37But if they were spotted on the ground, they could be attacked, and their explosive payloads would be turned against
07:42them.
07:42Ukraine got around all of this by flying its ground robots into target zones, drastically shortening their journeys and reducing
07:49risk.
07:50The results speak for themselves.
07:52We're already seeing smatterings of footage emerge of Russian positions being blown to pieces by artillery and kamikaze robots.
07:59Much of it comes from the 3rd Army Corps itself, which shared footage to X on September 18th, showing strikes
08:05that destroyed a Russian ammunition depot, a drone crew, and even a multiple launch rocket system.
08:10With the video being set to Vivaldi's four seasons.
08:13A symphony of strikes indeed.
08:16The ruination of Russian equipment ahead of the ground forces entering the scene ultimately led to Ukraine retaking three settlements
08:22in a key battleground.
08:24We mentioned drone crews there.
08:26Among those crews were the most dangerous operators in Russia, Rubicon.
08:30Often considered the elite drone forces of Russia, Rubicon has been growing since 2025, as it steals Ukrainian ideas and
08:37attempts to erode the advantage that Ukraine has in drone warfare.
08:40Rubicon has been responsible for a wholesale change in Russian drone tactics, as it pulled operators from the lines and
08:47stationed them far behind to make drone operations less risky.
08:50Russia supports Rubicon with a state-backed system for training drone pilots.
08:55It's ramped up the production of drones for this lethal unit, allowing it to hit Ukrainian logistics and troop gatherings.
09:01Rubicon is dangerous, but now it's on the run.
09:03According to the Kyiv Independent, Russia has been forced to pull its elite Rubicon operators from northern Donetsk because they're
09:10not looking so elite anymore.
09:11Russia's best drone operators have suffered heavy losses.
09:15Now they're gone.
09:16For Ukraine, that means Russia doesn't have the kill zones that it used to have in northern Donetsk, and Rubicon
09:21can no longer provide support to Putin's forces on the ground.
09:23This is bad for Russia.
09:25We may be seeing the foundations being laid for the third act of Operation Vivaldi, as Rubicon's abandonment of its
09:31posts will leave many other occupied settlements vulnerable to Ukraine's masterpiece of destruction.
09:37Ukraine is changing the way that war is fought, and this change was precipitated by adjustments in Ukraine's ground forces.
09:43But before we explain more and explore what all of this means for 2026 and the months to come, this
09:49is a reminder that you're watching the military show.
09:52We bring you the full picture, not just the headlines.
09:54Hit subscribe and enable notifications to stay ahead of the curve.
09:59According to the Kyiv Post, everything we've seen so far in Operation Vivaldi was preceded by structural changes that occurred
10:05at the highest level of Ukrainian military leadership.
10:08Those changes started on September 2nd, when Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the commander of the Ground Forces of the
10:15Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Hennady Shapovalov.
10:19He was replaced by Brigadier General Sviatoslav Zaitz, who is an Air Assault Forces veteran and had served as the
10:25commander of Ukraine's 20th Army Corps, which operated in the Dnipro-Betrovsk region.
10:29Zaitz is important because he brings a more modern twist to Ukrainian tactics.
10:33His experience in Ukraine's air assault forces also means that he understands the need to counter Russian drones, and he
10:39also knows how to coordinate strikes.
10:42Coordination between different units has been the key to the success of Operation Vivaldi.
10:46Corps brigades are working alongside specialized formations to make all of this happen.
10:51Though the 3rd Army Corps is doing most of the reporting on results, the operation is the result of work
10:56being done by the likes of the 60th Mechanized Brigade, the 21st Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, the 25th Separate Anti
11:03-Tank Battalion, the 3rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, and the 125th Separate Heavy Mechanized Brigade.
11:09Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has also provided a battalion tactical group and external units, such as the 8th Special
11:16Operations Forces Regiment and the RTAN unit, Ukraine's main directorate of intelligence, have also been involved.
11:22Would that level of coordination have been possible under Shapovalov? It's hard to say.
11:26But it has happened under Zaitz, and Russia has experienced massive losses at a key juncture of the war because
11:32of it.
11:33Operation Vivaldi is a major success for Ukraine.
11:36It could end today, and what it has achieved in Donetsk would still have ruined Putin's plans for the region
11:41in 2026.
11:42But for Russia, it's just the latest setback in a 2026 that has been filled with them.
11:47Ukraine has been launching counter-offensives all year, and they have resulted in the country reclaiming almost 1,000 square
11:53kilometers from Russia.
11:55Ahead of Operation Vivaldi, much of this territory was reclaimed in the Oleksandrovka direction.
12:00But we've also seen Russia lose ground in Kupyansk and elsewhere.
12:03What we're seeing here is the failure of Russia's infiltration tactics, at least when it comes to building defenses sturdy
12:09enough to stop Ukraine,
12:11being combined with Ukraine's tactical genius and clever use of the tools at its disposal.
12:16The result for Russia is massive losses.
12:18Not that you would know that if you listened to Putin's propagandists.
12:22According to the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, Russia is trying to claim that it has occupied
12:27more than 5,300 square kilometers of Ukraine in 2026 through to mid-September.
12:32It boggles the mind to see Russia make these sorts of claims when all open sources point to it taking
12:37far less than that.
12:38The ISW also confirms that Ukraine has liberated almost 1,000 square kilometers, putting the precise figure at 972.56
12:47and 60 settlements retaken as of September 19th.
12:51Russia's military is lying about what it's achieving. There is no other way to put it.
12:55The ISW outright calls out the culture of pervasive lying within Russia's military.
13:01And it also seems likely that Russia is trying to claim that any territory onto which it is able to
13:05sneak one or two infiltrators is claimed from Ukraine.
13:08We've even seen Russia's lies in Donetsk. Earlier in September, Russia tried to claim that it had captured the settlement
13:14of Svir-Tahirsk.
13:16It hadn't, not by a long shot. ISW data published in the wake of that claim showed that the nearest
13:21Russian forces to that settlement were about 20 kilometers away.
13:25This is all Russia has left now. Lies upon lies as it tries to convince the world, and perhaps even
13:30itself, that things are going according to plan.
13:33And all the while, Ukraine is steadily changing everything about how war is fought.
13:37Russia might have seen this coming if it was paying attention.
13:40As far back as January, the former commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Siersky, announced that Ukraine would
13:46be carrying out offensive operations in 2026.
13:49We will carry out a strategic defensive operation, but we understand that victory cannot be won through defense alone.
13:55Therefore, we will conduct offensive operations to maintain the operational initiative, Siersky claimed.
14:00Now, whether Russia simply didn't believe him or the Kremlin was arrogant enough to think that Ukraine wouldn't be able
14:06to pull off any offensives isn't known.
14:08But that doesn't matter now. Russia is in panic mode as Ukraine has unleashed a series of offensives that have
14:14swung the pendulum in terms of which country holds all the momentum in the war.
14:17But where all of this really matters is in the Donbass.
14:20Putin wants the Donbass badly. It was one of the focuses of his initial campaign of aggression in 2014, and
14:27it's in this region where the lion's share of the fighting has been focused since Putin launched his full invasion.
14:32But to take the Donbass, Russia needs to claim Donetsk. And for Donetsk to fall, the fortress belt has to
14:38collapse, which would open the path to the Donetsk administrative border.
14:42Russia has spent 2026 attempting to make headway through that fortress belt, and the settlements that surround the four cities
14:48that make up the belt are key.
14:49They're launching pads for Russia's offensive against the belt. At least that's the plan.
14:54So far, Russia has only succeeded in placing pressure on Konstantinivka, though that city remains in Ukraine's control.
15:02Operation Vivaldi has pushed Russia back in the northern region of the fortress belt, meaning that Ukraine has effectively shielded
15:07Kramatorsk
15:08and relieved pressure on the entire belt by preventing Russia from approaching via the flanks.
15:13This is disastrous for Putin. He has spent most of his invasion setting deadlines for the fall of the Donbass,
15:19only to see those deadlines fly right by as Russia's progress has been far slower than the Kremlin expected.
15:25The most recent of Putin's deadlines sets the end of 2026 as the date that the Donbass will finally fall.
15:30We don't know if it's delusion or Putin believing misinformation, but there is simply no chance that Russia will take
15:36Donetsk by the end of 2026.
15:38At this point, Ukraine would have to actively lay down arms and allow Russia to make progress in Donetsk.
15:43And even then, we're not confident that Russia would actually be able to take the region by the end of
15:47the year, given how poorly it's performed in 2026.
15:51Russia's military leadership is calling for an extension on the latest deadline.
15:55They're saying that March 31st, 2027 is the date when Donetsk will definitely fall to Russia, even as Russia is
16:01actively losing territory to Operation Vivaldi.
16:04Again, this could be lies, delusion or Russia being caught up in its own misinformation.
16:09But the first month of spring next year seems as ambitious as a guy with broken legs telling us that
16:14he's going to beat Usain Bolt in a foot race.
16:16It isn't going to happen.
16:17Not on the evidence of what we see on the ground in Donetsk.
16:21All four of the fortress belt cities remain under Ukraine's control and smaller settlements that Russia needs to assault that
16:27belt are being liberated.
16:28Russia has lost around 100,000 soldiers in 2026 alone, United 24 Media reports, and its spending at a rate
16:36of $150 billion per year, with hundreds of billions more in military spending being concealed by the loans that the
16:43Kremlin will never repay, the same outlet reports.
16:46It's hard to see where Russia goes from here.
16:48And don't forget, Operation Vivaldi hasn't ended.
16:51We're only halfway through, maybe less, and there is a lot more to come.
16:54We're seeing that operation expand by the day, and as open source analyst Clement Molan puts it,
17:00The operation is one of the most important victories for Ukraine in 2026, which will delay the offensive on northern
17:06Donbass.
17:07There is more to come.
17:08Pressure has been put on Russian positions in Acts 1 and 2 of Operation Vivaldi.
17:13Ukraine is keeping quiet about what's coming next, but whatever it is, it will be a work of military art
17:17the likes of which Putin and his cronies couldn't conjure up in their wildest dreams.
17:21And if you'd like to learn more about the first act of Operation Vivaldi, we have the perfect video for
17:26you.
17:27We covered what Ukraine achieved ahead of what we covered here, and discussed other key regions of Vonetsk that may
17:32soon become targets for Ukraine.
17:34Watch that video to discover more, but before you do, this channel is built by real people who care about
17:39getting the story right.
17:40Subscribe, join the conversation below, and consider becoming a member to support human-made military reporting and unlock exclusive content.
17:48And thank you for watching.
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