Day: September 25, 2026

François Picard is pleased to welcome Kyrylo Berkal, Deputy Commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, He sees Ukraine’s struggle centred on human potential, adaptation and will. While Ukraine is outnumbered, outgunned and sometimes outflanked, their answer is to make initiative itself a weapon: giving soldiers and sergeants room to innovate, developing technology from the tactical level upward, and trying to outthink their adversary. Operation Vivaldi embodies that philosophy. Berkal describes it as a “symphony” of men, women, technology, training and leadership, with human potential at its very centre. On the northern flank of the Donbas battlefield, their objective has been to stabilize the front, disrupt Russian advances and regain the initiative. But for the Deputy Commander, this war reaches beyond military tactics. Having left civilian life after Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014, he understands the conflict as a struggle over whether Ukrainians can preserve their independence, culture, history, heritage and families, and determine their own future. Public reporting says Vivaldi has involved Ukrainian advances and counter-infiltration operations in northern Donetsk; the Third Army Corps subsequently reported 125 km² brought back under Ukrainian control across its first two phases, including 50 km² retaken from Russian occupation.
#Ukraine #OperationVivaldi #Russia

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