Ukraine’s special forces strike back seizing a village with dozens of prisoners

Ukrainian special forces have retaken the settlement of Andriivka-Klevtsove in the Oleksandrivka sector, capturing 30 Russian soldiers in an operation that highlights Kyiv’s continued ability to mount local counterattacks despite the grinding nature of the wider war.

The operation was conducted by operators from Ukraine’s 3rd Special Operations Regiment, working alongside a psychological operations unit.

According to Ukrainian reporting, Russian troops had spent an extended period attempting to establish control of the settlement by infiltrating in small groups and gradually building positions inside the village, RBC-Ukraine reported.

The Ukrainian assault sought to reverse that advance systematically. Footage released by the special forces showed operators moving through the settlement, clearing Russian positions and forcing occupying troops to withdraw or surrender.

Thirty Russian servicemen ultimately laid down their weapons. Those who continued to resist were killed, according to the Ukrainian account.

The recapture gives Kyiv another tactical gain in the strategically important Oleksandrivka sector, where Ukrainian forces have been conducting offensive operations during 2026.

Ukrainian authorities say their forces have retaken 26 settlements across parts of Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions since the beginning of the year, recovering roughly 745 sq km of territory. The figures could not be independently verified.

The operation also ended with a striking piece of local symbolism. Ukrainian soldiers performed the traditional “Driving Out the Vipers” ritual, a male-only ceremony recognised on Ukraine’s national inventory of intangible cultural heritage and traditionally associated with cleansing homes of evil and misfortune.

In a village recently fought over by Russian forces, the symbolism was difficult to miss.

For Kyiv, the operation represents more than the recovery of another small settlement. It demonstrates that Russian attempts to advance through dispersed infantry infiltrations remain vulnerable to concentrated Ukrainian special operations, while adding another pressure point to a front where Moscow has sought to grind forward through incremental gains.