Ukraine achieved surprise by blinding Russian forces and disrupting logistics

Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive in northern Donetsk Oblast succeeded in part because Ukrainian forces kept quiet, according to a Sept. 17 assessment by the Institute for the Study of War. The think tank credits strict operational security and electronic warfare with degrading Russian battlefield awareness, allowing Ukrainian troops to restore elements of maneuver warfare.

Third Army Corps officials say a system called Protective Dome disrupted roughly 20,000 Russian drone missions, while strikes on fuel and logistics as far as 120 kilometers behind the front forced Russia to shut a pipeline and relocate a division. ISW separately noted Russia's own culture of internal dishonesty likely compounds its battlefield confusion.

The report also describes earlier Ukrainian deception tactics, including flag-raising missions staged at safe distances to mask real troop positions during a prior offensive.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.