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Phase 3 of Ukraine’s "Operation Vivaldi" has liberated an additional 51 square kilometers in the Lyman sector, reclaiming the strategic high ground at Nove alongside Ridkodub and Katerynivka. Spearheaded by Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi's 3rd Army Corps, the operation combined a masterclass in tactical deception with unmanned, explosive-laden Soviet BTR-60s functioning as heavy remote breach vehicles. With 2,000 Russian casualties and over 250 POWs captured—including officers—discover how Ukraine is systematically dismantling Russia's northern Donbas offensive.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Operation Vivaldi Phase 3: Liberating Nove, Ridkodub, & Katerynivka
01:43 - Tactical Deception: The Shandryholove Feint & Seizing High Ground
03:29 - Innovative Engineering: Converting Soviet BTR-60s into Kamikaze UGVs
07:35 - Mass Surrender Dynamics: High-Value Prisoners & $2,200 Capture Bounties
11:11 - Operation Vivaldi Phase-by-Phase Territory Recovery Matrix
13:27 - Strategic Objectives: Reaching the Chornyi Zherebets River Barrier
15:47 - Kremlin Escalation: $20M Bounty on Robert Brovdi & Denial Propaganda
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
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SOURCES: https://pastebin.com/zSw1G11W
Phase 3 of Ukraine’s "Operation Vivaldi" has liberated an additional 51 square kilometers in the Lyman sector, reclaiming the strategic high ground at Nove alongside Ridkodub and Katerynivka. Spearheaded by Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi's 3rd Army Corps, the operation combined a masterclass in tactical deception with unmanned, explosive-laden Soviet BTR-60s functioning as heavy remote breach vehicles. With 2,000 Russian casualties and over 250 POWs captured—including officers—discover how Ukraine is systematically dismantling Russia's northern Donbas offensive.
⏱️ CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Operation Vivaldi Phase 3: Liberating Nove, Ridkodub, & Katerynivka
01:43 - Tactical Deception: The Shandryholove Feint & Seizing High Ground
03:29 - Innovative Engineering: Converting Soviet BTR-60s into Kamikaze UGVs
07:35 - Mass Surrender Dynamics: High-Value Prisoners & $2,200 Capture Bounties
11:11 - Operation Vivaldi Phase-by-Phase Territory Recovery Matrix
13:27 - Strategic Objectives: Reaching the Chornyi Zherebets River Barrier
15:47 - Kremlin Escalation: $20M Bounty on Robert Brovdi & Denial Propaganda
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/zSw1G11W
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NewsTranscript
00:00The deadliest symphony in modern warfare is well underway and Russia is falling apart in Donetsk.
00:08Operation Vivaldi has been unveiled and it's moving through the seasons.
00:12The third season has begun and Russia faces a fall filled with failure.
00:19Territory is being liberated, Russian forces are dying by the thousands
00:23and we're now seeing something that Putin never wanted to see.
00:27A mass surrender of Russian troops to Ukraine's brutal symphony.
00:32On September 28th, the conductors of Operation Vivaldi, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps,
00:38took to Telegram to provide an update on what has happened during the third phase of its operation.
00:44Per Corps Commander Brigadier General Andrei Beletsky,
00:47the update shows that Ukraine's deadly symphony is still creating the sort of terrifying music
00:53that strikes fear in Russia's hearts.
00:56None of it makes for good reading for the Kremlin.
00:58The 3rd Army Corps liberated Nova, Rydkodub and Katerinivka
01:03and regained control over Karpivka and Novomikhailivka, the Corps declared.
01:09In total, Ukraine has retaken another 51 square kilometers of territory during the third season
01:15and it did so by using a brilliant one-two punch combo.
01:19Deception and the conversion of Soviet tech into a new breed of metal animal.
01:24More on both in a moment.
01:27Before we go on, this channel is built by real people who care about getting the story right.
01:32Subscribe, join the conversation below and consider becoming a member
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01:40The third phase of Operation Vivaldi has been lethal for Russia.
01:45The liberation of three settlements and re-establishing control in two others
01:50saw Ukraine inflict about 2,000 casualties on Putin's forces.
01:54Those who didn't die were taken prisoner, with 250 Russian troops winding up in Ukraine's custody.
02:00Of the settlements, Nova was the main goal.
02:03Described as a major Russian hub on the bridgehead in the Lehman region by the 3rd Army Corps,
02:08Nova is key because of its geography.
02:11High ground surrounds the settlements, so taking the town itself means having access to that ground.
02:17When you have the high ground, you control the bridgehead.
02:19That is what Ukraine set out to achieve in Phase 3 of Operation Vivaldi.
02:24It's here that we see the first punch that we mentioned earlier come into play.
02:29Deception was part of the strategy that Ukraine employed to liberate Nova,
02:33as the 3rd Army Corps misdirected Russian attention to open up an opportunity.
02:38The 3rd Army Corps essentially launched a fake attack,
02:41directed at a completely different axis,
02:44to force Russian troops to take their eye off the ball in Nova.
02:47The enemy was convinced that the main thrust of the attack
02:50was directed at the Shandryhalova-Zelena-Dolina axis, Beletsky reports.
02:56Fearing an attack on that front, Russia committed reserves
02:59in an attempt to repel what it believed to be an incoming Ukrainian assault.
03:04The bait had been set, and Russia bit hard.
03:08Those reserves spent their time repeatedly counter-attacking
03:11against a relatively small Ukrainian force.
03:13Russia burned through its reserves.
03:16And that meant it had nothing left when Ukraine launched the real attack.
03:21As those reserves depleted themselves, Ukraine's troops moved in on Nova.
03:26The enemy was caught off guard by the main thrust aimed at capturing Nova, Beletsky reveals.
03:31Russia's mistake ended up being Ukraine's gain.
03:34More details have been promised in the coming days.
03:37But we have one more juicy morsel delivered by Beletsky
03:41that shows us how the retaking of Nova wasn't just a case of distraction
03:45followed by sending troops in on the ground.
03:48The second punch came into play.
03:50As Ukraine repurposed an ancient piece of Soviet-era tech
03:54in a way that nobody could have seen coming.
03:56To breach the enemy's defences, the 3rd Army Corps deployed a proprietary invention.
04:00Soviet BTR-60s converted into robotic kamikaze units, Beletsky declared
04:06in the 3rd Army Corps' telegram post.
04:08The BTR-60 isn't a ground robot.
04:10At least it was never intended to be.
04:12It's an armoured personnel carrier that was developed by the Soviet Union
04:15during the late 1950s and was mass-produced from 1960
04:19all the way to 1976 at the Gorky Automobile Plant.
04:23Later, the Kurgan Wheel tractor plant took over production
04:26and it continued to build the BTR-60 until 1987.
04:30Over the vehicle's entire production run, up to 25,000 were manufactured.
04:35Still, the last BTR-60 rolled off the production line almost 40 years ago.
04:40By any modern standard, this armoured personnel carrier isn't fit for purpose anymore
04:45and it would be vulnerable to drone attacks if it were carrying troops.
04:49So Ukraine didn't use the BTR-60 for its intended purpose.
04:53The 3rd Army Corps loaded several of these vehicles with explosives
04:56and essentially used them as giant kamikaze ground robots.
05:01The remote-controlled BTR-60s rolled into Nova and beelined toward Russian positions,
05:07obliterating them with explosive fury to clear the way for the assault that liberated the settlement.
05:12This is ingenious by Ukraine.
05:14If the first punch in the combo turned out to be a feint,
05:18the second was a devastating haymaker delivered to a Russia that never saw the punch coming.
05:23What we see here is contrast in how Ukraine and Russia view and handle
05:28the Soviet-era tech that they both have.
05:30Ukraine is smart.
05:31It knows that much of this tech is outdated and can be vulnerable to new weapons
05:35introduced during its war with Russia.
05:37So Ukraine adapts.
05:39If something like the BTR-60 can no longer function as an armoured personnel carrier,
05:45let's find an alternate use that hurts Russia.
05:47As for Russia, it sees the masses of Soviet-era tech it had built up in storage facilities
05:52all over its country as the effective weapons of war they were designed to be decades ago.
05:58For years now, Russia has been relying on its Soviet-era technology to replace more modern
06:03systems that Ukraine has destroyed on the battlefield.
06:06There are no real modifications and certainly no repurposing of this tech.
06:11If a new tank is destroyed, a creaking, older, far more vulnerable Soviet model takes its place.
06:17UK military intelligence was pointing this out back in 2024 when it stated that Russia's
06:22massive losses had led to a reliance on outdated and poorly maintained Soviet-era equipment from
06:29strategic storage depots.
06:31Armoured equipment is being hauled out of storage, upgraded where possible, and sent to the front
06:36line.
06:37That equipment was soon shattered, just as the more modern systems that came before were
06:42destroyed.
06:42By the summer of 2025, the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, was reporting that Russia's
06:48Soviet-era stockpiles were nearing depletion.
06:51Fast forward to now, and Russia rarely launches the sorts of large, mechanised assaults that
06:57characterised its approach during the early years of the invasion.
07:00Now Russia tries to use infiltration tactics.
07:03Not out of desire, but out of necessity, as it has lost almost 12,400 tanks and well over
07:1025,000 armoured vehicles since the beginning of the war.
07:14This is the contrast.
07:15Ukraine sees an old weapon and considers how to use it in a modern setting, but for the
07:20Kremlin, Soviet-era weapons amount to metal that can be sent to bludgeon Ukraine into
07:25submission.
07:26One of these approaches is working better than the other.
07:29The success of the third phase of Operation Vivaldi tells us which.
07:33So the last few weeks have seen Russia have to deal with armoured vehicles that have been
07:37turned into kamikaze drones, mass casualties, and the loss of several settlements.
07:43Among them is NOVA, which is an extremely important strategic asset, the liberation of
07:48which causes Russia all sorts of problems as it pushes to take Donetsk.
07:53How could it get worse for Russia?
07:55We're about to tell you.
07:56But first, this is a reminder that you're watching The Military Show, and there's a lot
08:00more where this comes from.
08:02If you're enjoying this video, remember to subscribe and ring the notification bell so you don't
08:07miss what we have coming next.
08:09Earlier, we touched on something that is actually far more important than it appears on the
08:14surface.
08:15Along with the 2,000 casualties that Ukraine reported during the third phase of Operation
08:20Vivaldi, Ukraine also managed to capture over 250 of Russia's soldiers.
08:25We can only assume those troops saw what amounted to giant killer robots coming to destroy them
08:29and decided a white flag was a better choice than a rifle.
08:33For Putin, this mass surrender is more concerning than the deaths and even the loss of territory.
08:38Why?
08:39Part of the answer lies in who Ukraine has taken into custody.
08:44According to Beletsky, artillerymen, pilots, and even officers surrendered during the third
08:49phase of Operation Vivaldi.
08:51This mass surrender doesn't just represent experienced and talented Russian soldiers who
08:56have been taken out of battle.
08:57These soldiers, especially the officers, have valuable knowledge, and that is knowledge that
09:03can now be extracted through interrogation.
09:05Who knows?
09:06Maybe one of these captured soldiers will provide Ukraine with information that it can use to
09:11its advantage during the final phase of Operation Vivaldi.
09:15In other words, there may be gold in some of these Russian military mines, and Ukraine knows
09:20it.
09:21Ukraine knows this so well that it has attributed more value to the capture of Russian soldiers
09:26than to the killing of them.
09:27Toward the end of June, Ukraine created a new round of combat bonuses that are delivered
09:32to its troops for causing casualties or completing the captures of Russian soldiers.
09:37The bonus for a kill is $330.
09:40Not too bad if your unit is dedicated to wiping out Russian soldiers when they're launching assaults.
09:45However, the bonus for capture is $2,200.
09:49Almost seven times more than the bonus for a kill.
09:53You could say that the mass surrender of Russian troops during the third phase of Operation Vivaldi
09:58has just cost Ukraine's Ministry of Defense a whole lot of money.
10:02Maybe this is the new Russian tactic.
10:04Try to burn through Ukraine's cash reserves by surrendering as much as possible.
10:08We don't see it working.
10:10Sarcasm aside, the reason why there is so much value placed on the surrender over slaughter
10:15isn't just due to captured soldiers potentially holding information that Ukraine could use.
10:21Captured soldiers are collateral, which Ukraine can use in any upcoming prisoner exchanges
10:26to get some of its own troops back home.
10:29And psychologically, seeing literally hundreds of soldiers surrender to Ukraine in one fell swoop
10:35is damaging to Russia and its military commanders.
10:38We've even seen Russian troops killing their own when comrades want to surrender,
10:43as was the case in October 2025 when footage emerged of a Russian drone
10:47dropping explosives onto a surrendering soldier.
10:50Russia knows the message that it wants its troops to absorb.
10:54Clearly, that message isn't being taken on board, as Ukraine's brutal symphony gets louder.
11:00Frankly, the Russian troops who raised the white flag during Phase 3 of Operation Vivaldi were the smart ones.
11:06The alternative was elimination, and around 2,000 other soldiers discovered that firsthand.
11:12Much more than that, in fact, if we take the entire battlefield into account.
11:16On September 27th, the New Voice of Ukraine reported that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky,
11:21said that Ukraine neutralized more than 10,000 Russian soldiers in the week ending September 27th.
11:2910,660 to be exact, as revealed in an ex-post shared by the president.
11:35Overall this week, across all sectors of active combat operations on the front,
11:39our units neutralized 10,660 Russian troops killed and wounded.
11:45And every such Russian loss is confirmed by video evidence, Zelensky revealed.
11:49It looks like Ukraine is on track for another month where it causes over 40,000 Russian casualties.
11:56Operation Vivaldi is a huge part of the reason why.
11:59Ukraine's success has been remarkable during this operation.
12:02Though it has been going on for weeks, and was likely in the planning and early execution phases months ago,
12:08Operation Vivaldi was only publicly revealed in mid-September.
12:12It has already been a massive success, with the Kiev Independent reporting the liberation of 176 square kilometers of territory
12:19so far,
12:20along with several settlements.
12:21The first phase of the operation was also the biggest in terms of pure territory liberation.
12:26Around 75 square kilometers were taken back from occupiers,
12:29along with several settlements, including Novoselievka, Oleksandrovka, and Yerova.
12:35In the second phase, more gains were made in the Donetsk Oblast,
12:38as Ukraine reported the liberation of several more settlements.
12:41Chandrahalova and Darylova were among them,
12:44and Ukraine also took full control over Drobysheva.
12:48Another 40 square kilometers or so were added to the pile during phase two,
12:51the Kiev Independent reports.
12:53And the Kiev Post adds that Russia lost about 3,000 soldiers across the first two phases of Ukraine's symphony.
12:59Other scraps of territory have been reclaimed during and between these phases,
13:03leading into the third that we've just seen.
13:06Yet more territory lost for Russia,
13:08more soldiers dead,
13:09and now hundreds surrendering.
13:11The obvious question has to be asked.
13:14What does the fourth phase of Operation Vivaldi have in store for Russia?
13:19Ukraine is keeping quiet, and it should.
13:21A huge part of the success of Operation Vivaldi comes down to Ukraine only revealing what has happened
13:26after the fact, rather than indicating what it wants to do next.
13:30What we can say for certain is that Liman has been turned into a key battleground
13:34in a way that Russia never expected.
13:36For several months, Russia had been developing a salient into the Liman direction,
13:41with the intention of breaking through Ukraine's lines
13:43to enable the Russian flanking of the Fortress Belt city of Slovyansk.
13:48That salient is gone now.
13:50And with it goes whatever plans Russia might have had for the Fortress Belt
13:54as we approach the end of 2026.
13:57So in terms of what comes next,
13:59we can say with some degree of certainty
14:00that the entire Fortress Belt will stand by the end of 2026,
14:05and likely deep into 2027,
14:07and perhaps beyond.
14:08However, as important as the preservation of the Fortress Belt is,
14:12and it's likely the overarching goal of Operation Vivaldi,
14:15there may be another goal that Ukraine has in mind.
14:18Ever since the announcement of Operation Vivaldi being in progress,
14:21there has been speculation that Ukraine aims to reach the banks of the Chorny-Zerebets River.
14:26Even Beletsky acknowledged this when revealing the outcome of the first phase.
14:30There is currently a lot of information in open sources suggesting
14:34that the ultimate goal of our offensive operations
14:36is to reach the banks of the Chorny-Zerebets River, he said.
14:40That hasn't been confirmed as the stated goal,
14:43but it would make sense.
14:44If Russia can be pushed back beyond that river,
14:46then it is sent behind a geographical obstacle
14:49that needs to be overcome again in the future
14:52to enable attacks against the northern parts of the Fortress Belt.
14:55It appears Ukraine may be experiencing some success near this river.
14:59On September 18th, UA Wire reported that Ukrainian troops
15:02had crossed the Zerebets River,
15:04leading them to regaining ground in the Luhansk region of the Donbass.
15:08This move was reported not by Ukraine,
15:10but by Russian pro-military blogging channels,
15:13as they panicked over what is looking more and more like
15:16a collapse of Russia's Donbass offensive.
15:18One of those bloggers named Voyenyi Osvedomitel reported,
15:22there is increasing information that Russian armed forces
15:25have lost most of their bridgehead
15:27on the western bank of the Zerebets River,
15:30the Limansalien,
15:31and have transitioned to a defensive posture along its course.
15:34It's sure starting to look like the river
15:36is what Ukraine wants to reach and cross.
15:38We'll have to wait for Ukraine to confirm the outcome
15:41of the fourth and final phase of Operation Vivaldi
15:44before we get confirmation.
15:46But perhaps what Ukraine wants more than anything else
15:49from Operation Vivaldi is to give itself leverage
15:52it can use in any future peace talks.
15:55Politico suggests this is the case.
15:57In its report, the outlet links Operation Vivaldi
16:00to Ukraine's attempts to negotiate
16:01an energy strike ceasefire over the winter.
16:04The idea here is simple.
16:06Putin has spent years trying to claim
16:09that Ukraine is a minnow
16:10that is on the verge of collapsing
16:11under the Russian assault,
16:13seemingly oblivious to the fact
16:14that the fighting having lasted for years
16:17contradicts him.
16:18Through Operation Vivaldi,
16:19Ukraine aims to prove
16:20that it's very much a fighting force
16:22that is capable of liberating territory
16:24along with defending itself against Russia.
16:27Ultimately, this operation may be about leverage.
16:30But will it work?
16:31Sadly, the indicators we're seeing suggest
16:33that it won't.
16:34Rather than coming back to the table,
16:36Russia is taking increasingly desperate measures
16:39to weaken Ukraine's military.
16:41For instance, on September 28th,
16:43the Kyiv Post reported that Russia is now offering
16:46a $20 million reward for anybody
16:48who can reveal the location
16:49of the commander of Ukraine's
16:51Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdy.
16:53Brovdy's drone units haven't been
16:55as directly involved in Operation Vivaldi
16:57as they have been elsewhere in Ukraine.
16:59But there's an obvious reason
17:01why Russia wants him dead.
17:03Beyond his charisma being a morale booster,
17:05Brovdy has led drone operators
17:07to score 656 Russian casualties
17:10for every one of the 79 members
17:12Russia has managed to kill.
17:13This ridiculously large bounty shows us
17:16that Russia isn't likely to agree
17:18to any sort of ceasefire anytime soon.
17:21Putin seems to believe that Russia can still win
17:23as long as it takes out key figures
17:25in Ukraine's military.
17:26According to the ISW,
17:28Putin has acknowledged that Ukraine
17:29is pushing for a ceasefire,
17:31but he believes that it's because
17:32of how effective Russia's long-range drones are.
17:35In other words, Putin believes
17:37that Russia can still collapse Ukraine's
17:39economic and production capacity,
17:41which will weaken Ukraine's position
17:43in negotiations.
17:44It's not a bad concept, sure,
17:46but it's one that Putin has espoused since 2024.
17:50And back then, he thought that Russia's advances,
17:52even if they were slow,
17:54would be enough to pressure Ukraine into submission.
17:56Putin was wrong, as we can clearly see
17:59from the success of Operation Vivaldi,
18:01which is why he has switched to missiles
18:03as the supposed war winner for Russia.
18:06Overconfidence is going to be Putin's downfall,
18:09as his refusal to back a ceasefire
18:11means that Russia is as much of a target for Ukraine
18:14as Ukraine is for Russia.
18:16That overconfidence is likely being fuelled
18:19by fake reporting of the daily reality
18:21of what is happening in the Donbass right now.
18:23Putin's generals continue to paint a rosy picture,
18:26perhaps leading him to believe
18:28that a combination of a winter missile assault
18:30and advances on the ground
18:32that aren't actually happening
18:33might win Russia the war.
18:35Even now, Russia's defence ministry claims
18:37that Operation Vivaldi isn't happening.
18:40As open source after open source reports
18:43on Ukraine's gains,
18:44Russia claims that the reports are a smokescreen
18:46designed for Kiev's Western curators
18:49and that all Ukraine has achieved
18:51is the unsuccessful infiltration
18:53of enemy assault groups.
18:55We don't know about you,
18:56but that seems like a more accurate report
18:58of Russia's fortunes in Donetsk
18:59rather than Ukraine's.
19:00So a ceasefire may not be on the horizon
19:03due to Putin's delusions,
19:05but Ukraine will keep on pushing.
19:07We'll leave the final word to Beletsky.
19:10Vivaldi's music goes on.
19:12And that music has included the introduction
19:14of kamikaze ground robots
19:16to go along with the modified Soviet-era armour
19:18used during the third phase of Operation Vivaldi.
19:21And you can find out more about those robots
19:23and how Ukraine has been getting them
19:25deep behind enemy lines
19:27by watching our video.
19:28But first, are you enjoying our reporting?
19:31Subscribe and share your thoughts below.
19:33And if you'd like to support the real people
19:35behind the channel,
19:37consider becoming a member for exclusive content.
19:40And thank you, as always, for watching.
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