First photos from liberated Shandryholove show village virtually wiped out
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Shandryholove in Donetsk Oblast (Photo: 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade / Telegram)
The village of Shandryholove in northern Donetsk Oblast has been almost completely destroyed, with the frontline sweeping directly through the settlement four separate times over the past five years, the 66th Mechanized Brigade reported on Sept. 24.
Soldiers from the 66th Prince Mstyslav the Brave Separate Mechanized Brigade released the first photographic evidence from the liberated territory.
Russian occupation forces terrorized the local civilian population during their secondary occupation of the area even before ground units fully entered the village, the military added.
"Today, the settlement has been virtually erased from the face of the earth. The streets of Shandryholove bear witness only to the heavy, grinding battles that raged around it."
The village's liberation comes amid a series of tactical breakthroughs in the area:
Sept. 15 progress: Open-source intelligence group DeepState reported that Ukrainian Defense Forces had liberated Serednie and repelled Russian forces positioned near Shandryholove.
Sept. 19 offensive update: Petro Horbatenko, deputy commander of the 3rd Army Corps, announced that Ukrainian formations were pressing ahead with new advances during the initial phase of Operation Vivaldi in northern Donetsk Oblast. Alongside the confirmed liberation of Serednie and clearing operations in Korovii Yar, Novoselivka, Yarova, and Oleksandrivka, Ukrainian troops cleared Rai-Oleksandrivka and several adjacent settlements.
Sept. 20 official confirmation: 3rd Army Corps commander Andrii Biletskyi officially confirmed the de-occupation of Shandryholove and Derylove, as well as the establishment of full operational control over Drobysheve. The maneuvers liberated an additional 40 square kilometers of Ukrainian land, corps press officials told NV.
3rd Army Corps restored control over a total of 125 square kilometers, with 50 square kilometers entirely liberated from Russian occupation across the first and second operational phases of the offensive.
Operation Vivaldi: Strategic Impact and Enemy Losses
Commander Andrii Biletskyi first publicly confirmed the counteroffensive in northern Donetsk Oblast on Sept. 15 under the operational codename "Vivaldi," initially verifying the clearing of 75 square kilometers and the de-occupation of 10 square kilometers.
According to Ukrainian Defense Forces, Russian military losses in this operational phase reached approximately 1,500 personnel, over 12,000 unmanned aerial vehicles, and hundreds of armored vehicles, artillery pieces, and logistics transports. Ukrainian assault units severed critical Russian supply routes, forcing occupation forces to withdraw their fuel distribution hubs outside Ukrainian territory.
On Sept. 18, the 3rd Army Corps reported that Russia's elite Rubikon UAV unit was forced to withdraw from the Lyman-Borova axis after suffering catastrophic equipment and personnel losses in the operation.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that Operation Vivaldi successfully disrupted Moscow’s operational efforts to encircle Ukraine's strategic "fortress belt" cities in Donbas.
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