(DONBAS, DONETSK OBLAST) – Ukrainian forces have liberated approximately 176 square kilometres of territory and captured 250 Russian soldiers during a rapid offensive that has disrupted Moscow’s plans to encircle the fortress belt cities of eastern Ukraine, according to footage and testimony from the front line.
The operation, which Ukrainian commanders have named Operation Vivaldi, unfolded in the Donbas region in mid-October 2026, with ground robots and aerial drones playing a central role in a battle that military analysts say may mark one of the first offensives conducted almost entirely by machines.
The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had claimed on 1st September that his troops had captured the city of Spatahhersk. That claim proved false. Ukrainian forces launched their assault from positions near the city, using deception to convince Russian commanders that the main thrust would come from a different location approximately 100 kilometres away.
Ground drones were deployed from positions just beyond a mountain ridge, striking Russian positions in what one journalist embedded with the 93rd Brigade described as “ground zero of the whole operation.” Soldiers continue to deliver ground robots to the front daily, with crews travelling at high speed to avoid Russian drones.
Some robots were delivered by air during the latest offensive. Ukrainian forces used flying drones to carry ground robots behind Russian lines and drop them directly into battle. At a command centre, soldiers showed one such system, offering a rare insight into a rapidly evolving technology. “Drones delivering drones sounds like science fiction, but it happened right here,” the journalist reported.
The territory liberated, roughly the size of Washington DC, lies within a ridge of four cities known as the fortress belt, Ukraine’s primary defensive line in the Donbas. The region is heavily fortified and industrial, and Putin has repeatedly referenced the city of Kramatorsk in recent speeches. Russian forces first attempted to seize the area in 2014, when troops disguised as local militia took control of Kramatorsk briefly before Ukrainian forces and locals pushed them back. No flights have taken off from Kramatorsk since 2014.
Russia’s strategy has been to encircle the fortress belt cities from the north and south, advancing through Lyman and across the Siverskyi Donets river to cut off supply routes. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported that the Ukrainian operation disrupted this plan.
Ukraine began by attacking Russian supply lines behind the cities, targeting ammunition, fuel, storage and water. These strikes forced Russia to shut down a key fuel pipeline to Luhansk, far behind enemy lines. Similar strikes have targeted a highway connecting Rostov-on-Don to Crimea, with trucks and equipment destroyed in recent days.
The Ukrainians then employed deception. The village of Nova, a strategic hub on high ground, was the true target. False intelligence and movements convinced Russian commanders that the attack would come elsewhere along the front. This forced Russia to redeploy resources from other areas, stretching an already overextended force.
Ukrainian forces packed two old Soviet armoured vehicles with explosives, removed the drivers and remote-controlled them directly into Russian positions. Russian soldiers, believing the vehicles were reinforcements, allowed them through in what one account described as a Trojan horse tactic. The vehicles exploded.
Ground robots were then flown behind Russian lines and attacked from the rear, taking Russian forces by surprise. A massive swarm of ground drones approached from the west, and Russian soldiers, believing they were facing an infantry assault, opened fire. The drones, packed with explosives, destroyed positions, shelters and bunkers.
The offensive is ongoing, and information remains scarce. Ukrainian commanders have described the operation as a demonstration of how warfare will be conducted in future, not only in Ukraine but globally. When asked about NATO’s response, one commander offered a damning assessment.
Despite the success, the situation across Ukraine remains dire. Missiles have struck apartment buildings in Kyiv in recent days and weeks. In Kramatorsk, 33 people were killed on a bus on the same street where the journalist had been filming hours earlier. For the first time in Ukraine, the journalist observed three white lines in the sky, identifying a Russian plane. “Why can’t they get shot down?” the journalist asked. “Because we can’t reach them,” came the reply. The plane dropped glide bombs and performed a U-turn before a bomb was seen crashing a few kilometres away.
The incident illustrates the consequences of Ukraine running out of air defence systems. Previously, such planes could have been shot down easily, and the glide bombs would not have been dropped.
Kramatorsk is now a frontline city. Streets that were busy three months ago are almost deserted. Each time a bomb lands in the centre, more people leave and do not return. The city is preparing for battle, with dragon’s teeth defences, fallback positions and trenches dug in the city centre outside cafes. Ukraine has fortified Kramatorsk more thoroughly than it did Bakhmut or Chasiv Yar in previous years, a fundamental difference in 2026.
“This city is my home,” one resident said. “For Ukrainians, having a home is very important. This whole city is a total ghost town. I was here less than two months ago and there was still a cafe open here. Somebody said it closed five days ago. We still hope. Hope is my main word. People say what are you hoping for? And I say it has to stop somewhere. If it doesn’t stop here around Kramatorsk, will it stop at the EU border someday?”
The operation comes as Ukraine’s interception rate for Russian Shahed drones has doubled from approximately 40 percent to 80 percent in recent strikes, following the deployment of jet-powered interceptor drones. Innovation and defence are occurring at breakneck speed.
Russia’s main goal, according to commanders and analysts, is to convince the world that Ukraine is not worth supporting and should surrender to a stronger army. The operation demonstrates the opposite. Russia had planned a winter counteroffensive, bombing logistics, trains and transport for weeks. The Ukrainian offensive was something almost no one saw coming except those on the ground.
Footage and reporting from the front line were provided by journalist Caolan Robertson, embedded with the 93rd Brigade in the Donbas region of Donetsk Oblast.
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