Operation Veles conducted by Kharitya in Kharkiv region was used to traverse gas pipelines throughout the region to infiltrate Russian lines and kill 100 soldiers.
#pipelines #ukraine #russia #infiltration
Ukrainian Troops Crawl 15 Kilometers Through Gas Pipes, Kill Over 100 Russians Near Kupiansk
Ukrainian soldiers from the Khartiia Corps of the National Guard moved more than 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) through old underground gas pipelines in the Kupiansk area of Kharkiv Oblast this month. They came out behind Russian lines, worked with surface troops and drone strikes, and reported killing more than 100 Russian soldiers while capturing more than 30.
The operation was named Veles, after the old Slavic god of the underworld. Brigadier General Ihor Obolensky, who commands the corps, said Russian forces had planned to use the same pipes to sneak behind Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian units watched how the Russians moved underground, trained for the tight spaces, and went in first. They coordinated the underground push with attacks on the surface and drone hits so the Russians could not use the pipes to reach the rear of Kupiansk.
💀 Surveillance footage reportedly shows Russian soldiers attempting to cut an opening into a water pipe previously used by Ukrainian forces.
A Ukrainian soldier inside the pipe noticed them and opened fire on the approaching troops.
@BrinkWire1 https://t.co/pKOL23FPQ8— BrinkWire. (@BrinkWire1) October 22, 2026
These are not new tunnels. They are Soviet-era gas pipelines, some one to two meters wide, that once carried natural gas. Both sides have used them because the surface is extremely dangerous. Drones fill the air and hit almost anything that moves above ground, creating a wide “kill zone.” Russian troops started climbing out of the pipes in the spring of 2025 for surprise attacks. Ukrainian forces had been waiting for them at the exits. This time, Ukraine took the fight underground itself. Soldiers use gas masks, oxygen tanks, and sometimes small electric vehicles or wagons inside the pipes. Firefights happen at close range in the dark, cramped spaces.
The war has settled into a long, grinding fight across a front more than 700 miles long. Russia invaded in 2022 and still aims to take all of Donetsk Oblast and more territory in the east. Ukrainian units have slowed those advances and taken ground back in places. The Institute for the Study of War reported that Ukrainian forces have liberated about 1,080 square kilometers since the start of 2026. Russian forces made only modest net gains earlier in the year and have lost ground since September. One Ukrainian counteroffensive, Operation Vivaldi in the Lyman area of Donetsk, helped disrupt Russian plans to encircle fortified Ukrainian positions further south.
NEW: Russia pioneered the use of gas pipelines to sneak under Ukraine’s defenses and ambush them.
Now Ukrainian troops are going down there to fight them back, inside the pipes.
Our exclusive report today @TheAtlantic about this new subterranean front
https://t.co/BFJllcbmSN
— Simon Shuster (@shustry) October 22, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed large advances this year. Independent assessments put the actual Russian gains far lower—roughly 100 square kilometers or less in some counts—and show net losses in recent months. Russian infantry in the Kupiansk direction often have to walk long distances on foot because Ukrainian drones have hit their supply vehicles. Attacks continue in several sectors, including around Dobropillya, Lyman, and elsewhere, but the pace of Russian progress has slowed in places.
The pipeline fight shows how both armies keep adapting. Russia tried to use the pipes as a hidden path. Ukraine studied the method, trained for it, and turned the same pipes against the Russians who planned to use them. The Khartiia Corps said this was the first successful underground counterattack of its kind. Dozens of pipeline sections remain contested, and the fighting underground is likely to continue as long as drones dominate the surface.
Whatfinger News tracks the military side of the war daily on the military desk: https://militarywar.whatfinger.com/
— The Whatfinger News Team: Sgt K, Sgt R and Grok on edits
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