The Third Army Corps has liberated the settlements of Novoye, Redkodub and Katerinovka during the latest stage of Operation Vivaldi, and has also regained control of Karpovka and Novomikhailovka.

Axar.az reports, citing Ukrainian media, enemy losses amounted to 2,000 personnel, while more than 250 Russians were taken prisoner.

"This marked the end of the third stage of Vivaldi, which was a turning point for the entire operation. We regained another 51 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, bringing the total area retaken since the start of the offensive to 176 square kilometers,” the corps’ press service said on Telegram.

It noted that the main objective was the settlement of Novoye, a key enemy stronghold on the bridgehead.

“Whoever controls the heights around this settlement controls the initiative on the bridgehead. The enemy was convinced that the main direction of the attack was Shandrygolovo–Zelena Dolina. This forced them to waste their reserves in counterattacks in that direction. The Russians failed to anticipate the real attack, which was focused on capturing Novoye,” said Andriy Biletsky, commander of the Third Army Corps.