Ukrainian forces have conducted sustained defensive and counteroffensive operations that disrupted Russian efforts to approach or encircle Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka, a settlement in the Kostiantynivka direction near the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka fortress belt. In September 2026, units including the Azov Corps cleared Russian groupings that had accumulated over the summer, inflicting hundreds of casualties and preventing advances toward key logistics routes that could have enabled encirclement of Druzhkivka. Operation Vivaldi, centered north of Lyman, has allowed Ukrainian troops to regain over 170 square kilometers in the Donetsk region through multiple phases, pushing Russian positions back and blunting pincer attempts. As of early October, Ukrainian reports note continued Russian assaults in the sector but no confirmed territorial gains or consolidation around the settlement. Ongoing Ukrainian drone and robotic operations, combined with the absence of new Russian breakthroughs in verified assessments, shape trader views on near-term capture prospects amid active frontline fighting.