Ukraine launches offensive against Russia near key town

FILE: Pedestrians walk past a placard reading "Together we are unbreakable" and picturing Brigadier General of the Third Army Corps of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Andriy Biletsky (front) surrounded by militaries, in Kyiv on August 26, 2026, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Photo by SERGEI SUPINSKY /AFP via Getty Images

Article content

A Ukrainian army unit has launched a counter-offensive against Russian forces near Lyman, an embattled town in Ukraine’s east that Moscow has been edging towards for months, the unit’s commander said Tuesday.

Article content

Russia has seized around three-quarters of the Donetsk region since invading in February 2022, with Lyman one of the few urban areas in the region still under Ukraine’s control.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Its capture could pave the way for Moscow to sweep further south and threaten the Ukrainian-held strongholds of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, according to military analysts.

Article content

This handout photograph taken and released by press-service of the National Police of Ukraine on September 15, 2026 shows a alledged fragment of a drone outside gas station damaged after a Russian drone strike in Kyiv, amid Russian invasion in Ukraine. Photo by HANDOUT /Press-service of the National Po

Article content

Article content

The area has been the site of intense battles throughout the four-and-a-half-year war.

Article content

“The 3rd Army Corps has launched an offensive operation called Vivaldi in this sector,” the Commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps, Andriy Biletsky, said in a video on Telegram.

Article content

Ukrainian units have cleared Russian infiltrators from an area “about 75 square kilometres”, he added.

Article content

DeepState, a battlefield map linked to the Ukrainian army, showed Ukrainian troops had made a small pocket of gains north of the town.

Article content

There was no immediate public comment from Russia to Ukraine’s claims.

Article content

A handout picture taken and released by Ukrainian State Emergency Service on September 15, 2026 shows firefighters extinguishing a fire in a train locomotive after it was targeted by a Russian drone in the Volyn region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo by HANDOUT /Ukrainian State Emergency Servic

Article content

Widespread drone use at the front has made large-scale troop movements almost impossible, preventing either side from gaining a clear advantage in the grinding conflict.

Article content

Russia’s advance in east Ukraine gained pace in August, but remained far slower than in previous years of its invasion, an AFP analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed earlier in September.

Article content

Article content