Russia's Rear Area Drone Operators Were Attacked By Armored Ukrainian Assaults
New details about Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi continue to come to light. In the latest, the 3rd Corps has revealed that Ukrainian troops in armored vehicles advanced almost five kilometers behind Russian lines to eliminate Russian drone crews and bases.
The Ukrainian armored units were able to do this because they received special training, their vehicles were upgraded and they were provided effective overwatch support from drone units. JL
Ryder Blackthorn reports in Frontline Signal:
New details reveal another part of Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi: sending armored vehicles through Russian lines to reach the drone operators working behind them. In one assault, four armored vehicles crossed the frontline and delivered Ukrainian infantry near positions used by Russian drone crews. One vehicle was struck but remained operational and withdrew under its own power. In a separate assault, Ukrainian armor advanced 4.5 kilometers behind Russian lines. Infantry dismounted and attacked positions occupied by drone operators. Armored vehicles can no longer be treated as reserves rushed forward whenever Russian forces break through. Their movement must be planned around the threats they’re likely to encounter. Infantry and vehicle crews trained separately, armored vehicles received additional equipment, and supporting units were coordinated to protect their movement.
We’ve been following Operation Vivaldi for several weeks now, watching Ukrainian forces recover territory around Lyman while attacking the logistics supporting Russian positions.
But new details reveal another part of Ukraine’s approach: sending armored vehicles through Russian lines to reach the drone operators working behind them.
On October 19, Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi described two mechanized assaults carried out by Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps during Vivaldi.
In one assault, four armored vehicles crossed the frontline and delivered Ukrainian infantry near positions used by Russian drone crews. One vehicle was struck but reportedly remained operational and withdrew under its own power.
Biletskyi also described a separate assault in which Ukrainian armor advanced approximately 4.5 kilometers behind Russian lines. Infantry dismounted and attacked wooded positions occupied by drone operators.
The full movements and results of these assaults have not been independently reconstructed. But they offer a closer look at how Ukrainian forces conducted mechanized attacks in an area where drones have made armored movement increasingly dangerous.
Armored Raids Behind Russian Lines
We’ve seen throughout this war how difficult it has become to move armored vehicles near the frontline. Reconnaissance drones can detect approaching forces, while FPV drones, mines, and artillery threaten them before they reach their objectives.
According to Biletskyi, the assaults required extensive preparation. Infantry and vehicle crews trained separately, armored vehicles received additional equipment, and supporting units were coordinated to protect their movement.
Before one attack, commanders conducted a military war game to test the plan and identify potential problems.
Biletskyi explained that armored vehicles can no longer be treated as reserves that commanders simply rush forward whenever Russian forces break through. Their movement must be planned around the threats they’re likely to encounter.
The first mechanized assault helped Ukrainian troops partially encircle the settlement of Nove.
Biletskyi said the infantry remained virtually surrounded for several days, continuing to attack Russian unmanned-aircraft positions.
He credited the raid with disrupting Russian reconnaissance and FPV-drone activity, allowing Ukrainian units to advance through the area.
Targeting those crews could reduce Russian surveillance over particular routes and interfere with attacks against Ukrainian infantry and vehicles.
Biletskyi believes the deeper assault contributed to the subsequent collapse of a significant section of Russian defenses.
That assessment hasn’t been independently established, but it helps explain why Ukrainian commanders were willing to commit armored vehicles to such a risky operation.
The Months of Strikes That Prepared the Ground
The mechanized assaults followed months of attacks against Russian logistics and support infrastructure.
Throughout Vivaldi, Ukrainian forces targeted fuel depots, ammunition storage, vehicles, communications equipment, and command positions.
In September, the 3rd Army Corps reported to Militarnyi that its unmanned systems units had conducted approximately 36,000 strike missions during the operation’s first phase.
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Russian truck hit in the Lyman sector. 2026. | Screenshot from a video by the 3rd Army Corps / Credit: 3rd Army Corps / Source: militarnyi.com
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Russian armored vehicle hit in the Lyman sector. 2026. | Screenshot from a video by the 3rd Army Corps / Credit: 3rd Army Corps / Source: militarnyi.com
According to Ukrainian commanders, those attacks forced Russian forces to reroute supplies, move some logistics operations farther from the frontline, and travel greater distances to support their positions.
The strikes were intended to weaken Russian defenses before Ukrainian ground forces advanced.
By October, the operation had produced substantial territorial gains, according to the corps.
On October 14, Biletskyi announced that Ukrainian forces had recovered another 101 square kilometers during Vivaldi’s fourth phase, including the settlements of Zelena Dolyna, Lypove, and Kolodiazi.
Across all four phases, the 3rd Army Corps reported restoring Ukrainian control over 277 square kilometers and 16 settlements.
Those totals remain Ukrainian military claims. Independent analysts have documented territorial changes in the area, but the full figures have not been independently established.
The Institute for the Study of War assesses that Vivaldi disrupted Russia’s planned northern approach toward the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk defensive area.
That was part of a much larger Russian effort to threaten Ukrainian positions across Donetsk.
What Happened to Russia’s 144th Division?
Another development concerns Russia’s 144th Motorized Rifle Division, part of the 20th Combined Arms Army.
According to ISW, elements of the formation belonged to the Russian force operating from a bridgehead on the western bank of the Zherebets River.
Biletskyi says Vivaldi inflicted enough damage on the division that it effectively ceased functioning as an organized military force.
That doesn’t mean every soldier or vehicle belonging to the division was destroyed. His assessment concerns its ability to operate as a coordinated formation and continue carrying out offensive missions.
Biletskyi said the remaining Russian troops were concentrating on establishing defensive positions rather than continuing their earlier offensive operations.
ISW subsequently assessed that Russia would need to rebuild the 144th Division before employing it in future offensive operations in the Lyman direction.
The division’s exact personnel and equipment losses remain unclear. Rebuilding a severely degraded formation, however, would require additional manpower, equipment, and time.
That could complicate Russia’s efforts to resume its earlier offensive plans in northern Donetsk.
Why the Zherebets River Matters
Biletskyi also reported that Ukrainian forces had reached the Zherebets River, shortening the frontline and allowing them to establish more favorable defensive positions.
The river creates a natural obstacle for Russian forces attempting to advance from the same direction.
According to Biletskyi, Russian troops would need to cross it again to resume those operations. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, can concentrate infantry and organize drone and artillery coverage along a shorter defensive line.
Russia’s broader plan involved advancing through the Lyman direction and threatening Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north.
The northern advance was intended to contribute to a wider effort to encircle Ukraine’s heavily defended positions in Donetsk.
Vivaldi disrupted that approach.
In its October 20 assessment, ISW argued that Russian forces had been pushed toward more direct attacks against heavily defended Ukrainian positions east of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Fighting in Donetsk continues across multiple sectors, and Russia retains the ability to conduct further attacks.
But recovering the territory and establishing positions along the Zherebets River has changed the conditions Russian forces would face in any renewed advance from the north.
What the Latest Details Tell Us
Biletskyi’s latest account adds to our understanding of Operation Vivaldi.
Ukrainian forces spent months attacking Russian logistics before launching ground operations. They also used mechanized infantry to reach drone operators behind Russian positions, despite the dangers involved in moving armored vehicles near the frontline.
The reported damage to Russia’s 144th Motorized Rifle Division raises further questions about how quickly Russian forces can reorganize and resume offensive operations in the area.
The longer-term consequences remain uncertain, and the full extent of Russian losses has not been independently established.
But the significance of Vivaldi goes beyond the territory Ukraine says it has recovered.
Russia intended to use the Lyman direction as part of a wider offensive against Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian counterattacks have disrupted that approach and forced Russian forces to reconsider their plans.
The recovered settlements and new defensive positions along the Zherebets River are important.
What Russia can still do after losing those positions may matter just as much.
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