Ukraine's Vivaldi Counteroffensive Clears Russian Salient North of Lyman
Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps announced that its Vivaldi counteroffensive has retaken roughly 32 square miles north of Lyman, weakening Russia's 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies. The Institute for the Study of War earlier reported that Ukrainian troops had halted Russian advances and eliminated the salient north of Lyman, prompting Russian commanders to request a massive mobilization to sustain offensive operations. The institute also noted that Ukrainian forces reclaimed several hundred square kilometres around Lyman and in southern Ukraine, employing new drone and AI-driven tactics, according to analyst Mick Ryan of Futura Doctrina.
Russian online commentators had flagged those Ukrainian gains near Lyman, contradicting official Russian statements. Subsequent ISW analyses mapped that Ukrainian counteroffensives had largely neutralized Russian territorial gains made after March 2026, although limited Russian advances persisted in some sectors.
