Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps claims three more villages freed and 2,000 Russian casualties

In a briefing on September 28, the commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps, Brigadier-General Andrii Biletskyi, reported that Ukrainian troops have seized the villages of Ridkodub, Nove and Katerynivka in northern Donetsk Oblast, while also restoring full control over Karpivka and Novomykhailivka. This phase of Operation Vivaldi adds 51 square kilometres to the 176 km² already reclaimed since the offensive began. The corps claims the assault inflicted more than 2,000 Russian casualties and captured over 250 enemy soldiers.

Biletskyi credited elaborate deception operations that misled Russian forces into counter-attacking away from the main thrust toward Nove. He also noted the deployment of modified Soviet-era armored personnel carriers as kamikaze ground drones. The update aligns Ukrainian claims with earlier OSINT reports that suggested advances toward the Zherebets River. Biletskyi said Ukraine hopes to trade the captured Russian personnel for its own soldiers held captive.