Ukraine’s Third Army Corps announced on September 28 that Operation Vivaldi had liberated Nove, Ridkodub, Katerynivka and restored control over additional settlements north of Lyman, adding 51 square kilometers for a total of 176 square kilometers recaptured and more than 250 Russian prisoners taken. The deception-led push disrupted Russian attempts to form a northern pincer against the fortress-belt cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. In the separate Pokrovsk axis containing Bilytske, earlier Russian claims of incremental gains have faced Ukrainian counter-moves that maintained or improved local positions. These battlefield reversals and the approach of colder weather, which historically slows mechanized advances, shape trader assessments of timelines for any Russian capture of the settlement.