At the command post of the Third Army Corps, I met with the warriors carrying out Operation Vivaldi. It is a serious operation, important in many ways for our defense overall and for the Donbas in particular. Over its three seasons, Ukraine’s Defense Forces have thwarted Russia’s plans to break through to the rear of the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration and stabilized the situation in this section of the front. Russia has lost more than 5,000 killed and wounded, and another 250 occupiers have been added to our exchange fund. Since the start of the offensive, Ukraine has regained control of a total of 176 square kilometers of territory. Today, we discussed plans for the fourth season of active operations.

I also spoke with the commanders of the units directly involved in the operation. We discussed their needs in detail, including artillery, as well as compensation. One particularly promising area now is replacing our warriors with ground robotic systems wherever possible. During Vivaldi, this capability allowed us to accomplish many things. We will scale it up so that, more and more often, a drone rather than a warrior carries out the most dangerous tasks at the front.

I presented the warriors with state awards. Thank you for defending Ukraine and for your service!