Ukrainian forces have conducted Operation Vivaldi, a counteroffensive in northern Donetsk that recaptured up to 277 square kilometers and 16 settlements around Lyman since September 2026, disrupting Russian attempts to encircle or advance on the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk defensive belt from the north and east. Russian ground gains in the sector have slowed or reversed, with Ukrainian units pushing back positions near the Siverskyi Donets River and denying Russia key heights east of Sloviansk. Moscow continues long-range strikes on the city, including FAB-250 glide bombs and Smerch rockets in mid-October that killed civilians and damaged residential areas, but these have not translated into territorial progress. Russian claims of advances remain contested, while Ukrainian commanders assess that Moscow's plans to seize the remaining Donetsk industrial centers face significant barriers in the near term.