Ukraine's National Guard says its soldiers travelled roughly 15km inside disused gas pipes to emerge behind Russian lines close to Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing the 2nd Khartiia Corps.
The operation, code-named "Veles", combined the underground advance with fighting above ground, including drone strikes. According to the corps, upwards of 30 Russians were taken prisoner and Russia lost over 100 troops killed or wounded; the Kyiv Independent said it could not independently verify those figures.
Khartiia commander Brigadier General Ihor Obolienskyi said his forces had studied how Russian troops used underground routes and decided to go underground themselves. Russian units have previously used pipelines to move covertly in the Kupiansk sector, including an attempted assault by about 50 soldiers through the Soyuz pipeline in January.
Source: Kyiv Independent
