Ukrainian Defence Forces have liberated three more settlements in the Donetsk region and regained control of another 101 square kilometres of territory during the fourth phase of Operation Vivaldi, according to Ukraine's Third Army Corps.
Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi said the Third Army Corps and attached units had liberated Zelena Dolyna, Lypove and Kolodiazi.
During the fourth phase of Operation Vivaldi, Russian forces lost approximately 3,000 troops, while Ukraine regained 101 square kilometres of territory.
According to Biletskyi, the operation, which began with the elimination of Russian infiltration groups, developed into a rapid, large-scale offensive. Disoriented Russian forces began losing control of their units, leading to widespread chaos.
"We prevented Russian forces from bypassing the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from the flanks and encircling it. We also secured the Kharkiv-Sloviansk highway. Russian forces failed to cut off a key logistics route for our troops in Donbas. We disrupted the offensive by Russia's Zapad grouping and forced it to redeploy elements of the 1st Tank Army, reducing pressure on Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi," Biletskyi said.
He added that Ukrainian forces had regained full control of 16 settlements and liberated a total of 277 square kilometres since the beginning of Operation Vivaldi.
According to Biletskyi, Russian troop losses throughout the operation have reached 8,000.
