Ukraine is pushing back Russia on the front line where Starlink has played a key role

Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi has retaken significant territory in the Donbass, but optimism has been dampened by sour relations with President Trump.

By Ukraine correspondent Dan Johnson, reporting from near Liman, eastern Ukraine

A Russian drone zips across the computer screen, startling commanders watching over the battlefield via live feed in their bunkers.

Cigarette in one hand, radio in the other, one of them calls his drone to bring it down and alert the soldiers below of the threat. Men are dangerously drawn a long way into the open field from their frontline positions. After three months they are replaced by the retreating Russians.

It is part of Operation Vivaldi, a Ukrainian counteroffensive that they say has liberated 277 square kilometers (106 square miles) of the eastern Donbass region in recent months.

The name reflects the four stages or seasons of the attack - like the Italian composer's violin concerto. The successful attack foiled a Russian pincer move that threatened key cities in the Fortress Belt, which are still under Ukrainian control.

While Russia has pounded Ukraine from the air this month, crippling its energy infrastructure and killing scores of civilians across the country, on the frontline, it is Ukraine that has been making gains of late. Kiev says it inflicted heavy losses—8,000 Russian casualties at Vivaldi alone and nearly 50,000 along the front in September—and suffered few casualties in return.

The Institute for the Study of War reported that pro-Russian military bloggers had acknowledged the progress in Ukraine and expressed concern that it could lead to further Russian losses in the future. No Russian official has publicly acknowledged Ukraine's achievements. The Russian Ministry of Defense only says that they are "repelling attacks" in the Lyman region or "improving the tactical position at the front".

Despite Ukraine's move forward, Russian drones are still ever-present. Phoenix, the commander of the Vengeance Brigade's Silver Trinity unit, tells me his men face an average of 10 a day.

He is fixed on the live stream, as a Ukrainian trap arrives, hovers for a few seconds, and drops a net on the drone, pulling it out of the sky. The Russian drone was for reconnaissance, but if it locked onto the soldiers, another drone carrying explosives would follow.

This moment of danger reveals the layers that make up the modern battlefield. The command post receives live images from an overhead camera, while below a Ukrainian attack drone engages another enemy that could unleash more firepower.

In all of these, Starshield, the military version of Elon Musk's Starlink satellite communications network, is integrated, providing broadband connectivity across the battlefield.

Ukraine said this week that, as Operation Vivaldi concluded, the system imposed restrictions without warning, limiting their capabilities.

Musk and media reports suggest that the order may have come from the White House. While Ukraine does not fully rely on the Starshield, it is a key tool in their arsenal, vital for mid-range and interceptor drones. And knowing that this tool can be curtailed without warning or consultation has caused major concern in Ukraine.

Underneath the battle for air supremacy, unmanned ground vehicles circle back and forth delivering supplies, evacuating the wounded or, increasingly, leading the charge against the enemy.

Everything here relies on digital connectivity - see, move, fly, communicate, shoot. But at the bottom of this ridge, it is still the people in the trenches who hold the ground.

The tired soldiers have safely reached the command post. After 95 days on the front line, an emotional reunion occurs.

An infantryman with a call sign vendor tells me he's feeling strong, but it's good to finally be going home: "It's been an impressive operation. Over three months, we've moved into positions four times."

The scariest threat, he tells me, was the Russian drones, piloted remotely, determined to pursue their target.

Commander Phoenix said preparations for the attack were "enormous".

"The guys trained for months. We had to completely change our approach because we used to defend and now we had to attack."

Robots and drones led the attack on Russian positions, and for the first time remote-controlled explosive vehicles were dropped behind Russian lines - 250 Russians surrendered. According to Ukrainian commanders, their year-long campaign has freed 16 towns from Russian occupation.

In Karpiuka, a village occupied since April, Ukrainians found one local resident left - 61-year-old Volodymyr Zamota, the last man standing when his neighbors fled the Russian advance in 2025. He says he survived eight months in total isolation.

"As they say, hope dies last," he told me. "I am the only person left in the entire village, and the village is almost completely destroyed."

"I thought I'd live to be old without experiencing anything like this, but then it happened. It's a terrible tragedy."

This devastation marks the territory that Ukraine recently occupied. It is still very dangerous for residents to return, even if they have a safe house. But Ukrainian soldiers are celebrating the reclaimed ground, the halt to the Russian advance and the future potential of the operation.

"The real value is in securing advantageous positions, favorable lanes, and a spiral bridge that gives us a superior position," explained Andrei Hitt, chief of staff for Vengeance Bridge.

"It allows us to create the conditions for successful subsequent operations, to gain the initiative in battle, and to plan successful future maneuvers...Each of these actions is the cornerstone of victory."

All of this could be threatened by the limitations of US technology and US intelligence. Relations between Kiev and Washington are at their lowest level.

This week, President Zelensky said he felt "betrayed" by Donald Trump, while the US leader said he was "not a fan" of his Ukrainian counterpart and said he was harder to deal with than Vladimir Putin.

Trump says Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil refineries have increased oil prices. Ukraine says that the war between America and Israel against Iran is the cause.

But despite the diplomatic differences, morale is high among the soldiers we met. Diller says Operation Vivaldi has renewed his belief that Ukraine can win the war.

The unit ensures that Voldimir, as they call him Grandfather, has enough to eat - drones drop food parcels on their way to feed the soldiers at the front.

I asked Volodymyr if he believes that Ukraine can win. "Yes, of course I do. I just want to know when it's going to happen, when it's all going to be over."