During the third phase of Operation Vivaldi on the Lyman axis, fighters of the Third Assault Brigade employed two Soviet BTR-60 armored personnel carriers converted into unmanned robotic kamikaze vehicles.
As reported, the explosives-laden vehicles drove into the enemy’s rear in the area of Nove and Katerynivka. Russian forces perceived them as reinforcements. Following detonation, command-and-observation posts and communications nodes were destroyed, and the drone-launch positions of the Rubikon unit were struck. According to the corps, the blast yield was comparable to the impact of a glide bomb.
The maneuver was designed to divert attention from the main strike. According to corps commander Andriy Biletsky, Russian forces were anticipating a breakthrough along the Shandryhолове–Zelena Dolyna axis and redirected their reserves there. The real strike was aimed at Nove, described as the enemy’s key hub on the bridgehead.
The results of the third phase: Nove, Ridkodub, and Katerynivka were liberated, and control over Karpivka and Novomykhailivka was restored. The enemy lost approximately 2,000 personnel, with over 250 taken prisoner. In total, since the start of the counteroffensive, the corps has reclaimed 176 km².
In 2023, Russian forces attempted a similar approach, launching MT-LB and T-54/55 vehicles packed with explosives, but a crew member manually steered the vehicle and jumped out while it was moving, which severely limited maneuverability and accuracy.
