Inside Ukraine's extraordinary underground pipeline operation against Russian forces near Kupiansk

More than 15 kilometres through underground gas pipelines, beneath the battlefield in northeastern Ukraine.

That was the extraordinary route taken by Ukrainian troops in a daring operation near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, turning a tactic once used by Moscow's forces against them.

Codenamed Operation Veles, the mission saw Ukrainian soldiers infiltrate Russian positions through underground pipelines infrastructure, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealing on Tuesday that more than 100 Russian troops had been eliminated and over 30 captured.

Carried out by the National Guard's 2nd Khartiia Corps alongside other Ukrainian units, the operation combined an underground advance with simultaneous attacks above ground and coordinated drone strikes.

"The underground advance has exceeded 15 kilometers," Zelenskyy said in a statement on Tuesday, following a briefing from senior military officials on the operation's initial results and progress.

The underground route included a gas pipeline measuring just 1.2 metres in diameter, forcing Ukrainian soldiers to navigate confined spaces as they advanced towards Russian positions.

According to a source within the Khartiia Corps cited by Ukrainska Pravda, Ukrainian troops fought inside the pipeline itself, advancing several kilometres through the narrow passage while confronting Russian soldiers.

The operation required extensive preparation, including training for combat in confined spaces and specially developed technological solutions for navigation, communications and life support.

But what makes Veles particularly striking is that the tactic was not new. It was Russia's.

In September 2025, Ukrainian battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported that Russian troops had used a gas pipeline beneath the Oskil River to infiltrate Ukrainian positions near Kupiansk, bypassing conventional defensive lines.

The underground route had allowed Russian forces to reach Ukrainian-held territory without crossing exposed ground above, presenting a formidable challenge for Kyiv's defenders.

Now, Ukrainian forces have turned that vulnerability into an advantage.

"The Russians had already tried to use underground gas pipelines to move through our positions and launch assault operations," Zelenskyy said.

"Ukrainian warriors have successfully transformed this tactic, modernized it, and made it much more sophisticated and technologically advanced."

The 2nd Khartiia Corps first disclosed details of Operation Veles on 22 October, saying the mission had disrupted Russian attempts to infiltrate Ukrainian positions around Kupiansk.

By combining underground manoeuvres with attacks on the surface, Ukrainian forces sought to prevent Russian troops from continuing to exploit the pipeline network to reach the rear of Ukraine's defensive positions.

The operation carries wider significance for the battle around Kupiansk, a strategically important city in northeastern Ukraine that has remained a focus of Russian offensive operations.

In his evening address, Zelenskyy presented Veles as the third major Ukrainian military operation this year, following two earlier campaigns that he said had reclaimed substantial areas of Russian-held territory.

The first, conducted by Ukraine's Air Assault Forces in the Oleksandrivka sector, spanning parts of the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, liberated more than 800 square kilometres, according to the president.

The second, codenamed Operation Vivaldi, took place in the Donetsk region, where he said Ukrainian forces liberated more than 200 square kilometres in areas where Russian troops had launched repeated assaults.

Veles, he said, was strengthening Ukraine's positions near Kupiansk and demonstrating that Moscow had failed to achieve the objectives set by its political leadership.

"We are protecting the lives of our people, inflicting losses on the occupiers, and achieving our objectives in the Kupiansk sector," Zelenskyy said.