Ukraine Recaptures Territory, Forces on the Offensive, Zelensky Says

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday, Oct. 27, that Ukrainian forces had recaptured significant territory in three major offensive operations this year, strengthening their frontline positions and disrupting Russia’s battlefield plans.

In his evening address, Zelensky highlighted an Air Assault Forces campaign that liberated more than 800 square kilometers (309 square miles), Operation Vivaldi in Donetsk region, where Ukrainian troops reported recapturing 277 square kilometers (107 square miles), and Operation Veles near Kupiansk, where Ukrainian forces turned Russian underground infiltration tactics against Moscow’s troops.

“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, noting that Ukraine would be in a much better diplomatic position if partner support was equally strong, particularly in the field of air-defense systems.

Air assault gains and Operation Vivaldi

According to Zelensky, the offensive led by Air Assault Forces (DShV) has liberated more than 800 square kilometers (309 square miles). The campaign ran through Jan. 29 through Aug. 12, liberating 26 settlements spanning across three regions – Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia.

The second, Operation Vivaldi, was carried out by the 3rd Army Corps near Lyman in Donetsk region from July until mid-October. According to Zelensky, Ukraine’s Defense Forces liberated more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) there, in an area where Russia had concentrated its assaults.

Other Topics of Interest

ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 27, 2026

War in Ukraine - Latest update, key takeaways and map from the Institute for the Study of War on October 27, 2026.

When the operation ended on Oct. 14, 3rd Corps commander Brig. Gen. Andriy Biletsky said his forces had retaken 277 square kilometers (107 square miles) and more than 16 towns and villages, while inflicting at least 8,000 casualties on Russian troops.

The offensive, he said, pushed Russian forces back from the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk highway, a key supply route for both cities.

In an interview with ArmyInform on Oct. 19, Biletsky, who is also commander of Ukraine’s Center Grouping of Forces, said Operation Vivaldi had disrupted Russia’s broader plan to encircle the strategically important cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

According to the general, Russian forces intended to advance from a bridgehead along the Chornyi Zherebets River, bypass Lyman and approach Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north, while another Russian grouping advanced from the Dobropillya direction.

The commander said Ukrainian forces eliminated the Russian bridgehead, forcing Moscow to abandon its planned northern advance.

Biletsky also reported more than 8,000 Russian personnel losses and approximately 270 soldiers captured, including more than 20 officers.

He emphasized that the operation’s most significant achievement was not the territory liberated but the disruption of Russia’s strategic plans to capture the remaining Ukrainian-held strongholds in Donetsk region.

Turning a Russian tactic against Moscow

In a separate statement earlier on Tuesday, Zelensky said he had been briefed on the operation’s results by Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapaty, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa and Brig. Gen. Ihor Oboliensky, the Khartiia Corps commander.

According to the report, Russian forces had previously tried to use underground gas pipelines to slip past Ukrainian positions and launch assaults. Ukraine’s Defense Forces then adopted the method and refined it, making it “far more thought-out and technologically advanced,” Zelensky said.

Repeating figures Khartiia’s Corps first released on Oct. 22, Zelensky confirmed that more than 30 Russian soldiers have been captured, while Russian losses exceeded 100.

At the time, it was reported that more than 30 Russian prisoners were captured, with the maneuver described as the world’s first full-scale underground counteroffensive.

Without any GPS or daylight, Ukrainian troops pushed through more than 15 kilometers (9 miles) of underground infrastructure before emerging behind Russian positions overhead.