On October 9, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps launched Operation Vivaldi near Liman in the Donbas, retaking roughly 68 square miles, about three times the size of Manhattan. The operation used electronic warfare and aerial drones to blind Russian reconnaissance before land robots and assault groups moved in. By October 17, Ukraine said the operation had liberated 16 villages and more than 100 square miles, with minimal casualties. Corps commander Andrei Beletsky says it is only in its first season. The discussion frames it as proof a Russian sweep of the Donbas is not inevitable, with the scale of the gains now the contested point.