The Ukrainian Armed Forces' "Vivaldi" Operation Will Be Studied By Armies Around The World
- 2.10.2026, 22:57
This primarily concerns the troop command and control system.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ “Vivaldi” operation features several approaches that could serve as case studies for modern armies. These include, first and foremost, the force command and control system, the use of small-scale air defense, ground-based robotic systems, remotely controlled armored vehicles, and the coordination of units.
A Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember and military analyst Alexander Musienko
spoke about this on the FREEДOM by a Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember and military analyst Oleksandr Musienko.
According to him, one of the key factors was the command-and-control system and the command’s understanding of its own capabilities.
“When the commander (this is no longer just a corps, but the ‘Center’ troop grouping), Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, has troops—in fact, brigades and units—under his command, he understands what reserves he has, who he can count on, how well-trained these soldiers are, and what weapons they have. And he plans the operation based on that,” Musienko noted.
Musienko also highlighted the use of small-scale air defense systems. According to him, their use has allowed Ukrainian units to limit the capabilities of Russian intelligence using drones.
“For infantry or a robotic system to advance, it is necessary for the enemy to lose situational awareness—to lose its ‘eyes’—so that its drone-based reconnaissance cannot operate. And they managed to neutralize quite a few Russian military drones—both reconnaissance and strike drones,” explained the Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember.
He noted that this created the conditions for Ukrainian forces to advance and implement an offensive strategy.
“This made it possible to advance; it made it possible to implement the offensive strategy because the enemy didn’t understand or know what was happening. They continued to draw maps showing that they controlled the territory,” added the military analyst.
He cited the use of ground-based robotic systems as another key element of Operation “Vivaldi.” According to Musienko, the Third Assault Brigade had previously been actively developing this component.
- The Third Assault Brigade had a well-developed ground robotic systems component. They formed companies and battalions of various types—assault units that carried out tasks such as holding positions, conducting assault operations, evacuations, and so on. “It worked,” Musienko said.
According to him, remotely controlled armored personnel carriers were also effectively used during Operation “Vivaldi,” effectively transforming into large robotic systems.
“We understand that we have armored vehicles, but using them is quite risky because the enemy can hit them either with artillery fire or with a drone. Accordingly, the remote-control modules proved effective. And these APCs were, so to speak, large robotic systems—unmanned vehicles. That worked, too,” emphasized a Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemember.
In addition, among the factors contributing to the operation’s success, he highlighted information discipline and the coordinated actions of Ukrainian units.
“No information was disseminated about the fact that offensive operations were underway. Some people talked about it, but there wasn’t a huge media frenzy. That helped, too. And the units’ actions were quite well-coordinated. Coordination, communication, and command were all quite effective. All of this yielded results,” explained a military analyst.
At the same time, he believes the operation may yet demonstrate new tactics that the military will study in the future.
“The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ ‘Vivaldi’ operation is still ongoing, so I think we’ll see more interesting aspects that will definitely be worth studying,” concluded Oleksandr Musienko.