A Ukrainian unit used heavy bomber drones to drop war robots behind Russian lines as part of a secretive operation that it says has helped retake multiple settlements.
Ukraine’s Third Army Corps on Sunday announced that Operation Vivaldi, near the eastern city of Lyman, had so far brought 125 square kilometers back under Ukrainian control, including 50 square kilometers retaken from Russian occupation.
Many details of this significant operation remain undisclosed because it is taking place under “conditions of maximum information silence,” Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps, said in a video shared by the unit.
But he revealed one key tactic that the unit says it pioneered.
“The Third Army Corps was the first in the world to begin air-deploying ground robotic systems,” he said, adding that “our heavy bomber drones deliver suicide ground drones more than 10 kilometers into the enemy’s rear.”
Ukraine has increasingly been using both aerial drones and ground robots to fight Russia’s invasion, using them to scout and attack areas considered too dangerous for troops.
Biletskyi said that during assault operations, drones and uncrewed ground vehicles “always move ahead of the infantry,” helping clear the way for troops that follow.
The Corps said in a separate post on Monday that its robots had become a key part of the offensive, completing over 15,700 successful missions and delivering around 3,300 tons of cargo.
The unit said that during the ongoing operation, its artillery and uncrewed systems have hit Russian command posts, communication hubs, logistics, river crossings, and reserves.
Roman Chop/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
It said that Ukrainian air defenses and electronic warfare units created a protective shield over the combat zone, blinding Russian forces and preventing them from detecting the operation’s design.
Biletskyi said the operation also helped counter Russia’s small infiltration groups, a tactic in which Russia sends small groups of soldiers forward to find and exploit gaps in Ukraine’s defenses and disrupt rear areas.
“The Russians consider one of their advantages to be the so-called infiltration tactics, which sometimes reach tens of kilometers deep into our combat formation,” he said.
“Therefore, one of the first tasks of the Third Army Corps was to destroy it,” he said, adding that search and strike actions resulted in infiltration pockets being “eliminated” in some areas.
The unit said the announcement did not mark the end of the operation, which continues and is gaining momentum. Biletskyi said that more updates would follow.
“Our operation is called Vivaldi, and Vivaldi, as is well known, has four seasons, and this is only the first of them,” he said, referring to the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” concertos.
“Right now, our actions require silence,” he said.
Ukraine, Biletskyi said, had retaken full control of Drobysheve and had liberated two other settlements, Shandryholove and Derylove. The unit had announced other gains earlier in the operation.
The video shared by the Third Army Corps showed soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag in a number of locations.
The unit said that Russia’s losses exceeded 3,000 during this operation and that a “heavy blow has been dealt” to the offensive potential of three major Russian formations: the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army, the 25th Combined Arms Army, and the 1st Tank Army.
The unit said it was assisted by other Ukrainian units, including the 60th Separate Mechanized Brigade, 125th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, and the KRAKEN 21st Separate Special Operations Battalion.
