Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said the country’s forces have reclaimed significant territory through three major military operations this year, strengthening their positions on the battlefield and disrupting Russia’s plans in the ongoing war.
Zelensky disclosed this in his evening address on Tuesday, highlighting an Air Assault Forces offensive that recovered more than 800 square kilometres, Operation Vivaldi in the Donetsk region, which reportedly reclaimed 277 square kilometres, and Operation Veles near Kupiansk, where Ukrainian troops used underground infiltration tactics against Russian forces.
“It is important to note that this year, Ukraine’s positions on the front line remain the strongest they have been in a long time during this war,” Zelensky said, adding that stronger support from international partners, particularly in air defence, would improve Kyiv’s position in diplomatic negotiations.
According to the Ukrainian president, the Air Assault Forces campaign lasted from January 29 to August 12, resulting in the recapture of 26 settlements across the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The operation reportedly covered more than 800 square kilometres.
Another offensive, Operation Vivaldi, was conducted by Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps near Lyman in the Donetsk region between July and mid-October.
The operation ended on October 14, with the corps’ commander, Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, saying Ukrainian forces had retaken 277 square kilometres and more than 16 towns and villages.
Biletsky also claimed that the operation inflicted at least 8,000 casualties on Russian troops and resulted in approximately 270 Russian soldiers being captured, including more than 20 officers.
He said the offensive pushed Russian forces away from the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk highway, an important supply route serving both cities.
In an interview with ArmyInform on October 19, Biletsky said the operation disrupted Russia’s broader plan to encircle Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, two strategically important cities in the Donetsk region.
According to him, Russian forces had planned to advance from a position near the Chornyi Zherebets River, bypass Lyman and approach the cities from the north while another group advanced from the Dobropillya direction.
The commander said Ukrainian troops eliminated the Russian bridgehead, forcing Moscow to abandon its planned northern advance.
He maintained that disrupting Russia’s military strategy was a more significant achievement than the territory recovered during the operation.
Zelensky also highlighted Operation Veles, conducted by the National Guard’s Khartiia Corps near Kupiansk.
The operation involved Ukrainian troops adapting Russia’s use of underground gas pipelines to infiltrate enemy positions.
According to Zelensky, Russian forces had previously used the underground infrastructure to move behind Ukrainian lines and launch attacks.
Ukrainian troops subsequently adopted and improved the tactic, making it “far more thought-out and technologically advanced,” he said.
Citing figures previously released by the Khartiia Corps on October 22, Zelensky said more than 30 Russian soldiers had been captured, while Russian losses exceeded 100.
Ukrainian troops reportedly travelled more than 15 kilometres through underground infrastructure without GPS assistance or daylight before emerging behind Russian positions.
The manoeuvre was described in earlier reports as the world’s first full-scale underground counteroffensive.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s battlefield gains had strengthened its position in the war but stressed that additional assistance from international partners, especially the provision of air-defence systems, remained important to improving the country’s military and diplomatic standing.
