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Ukrainian troops infiltrated the rear of Russian forces near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast after moving about 15 kilometers (9 miles) through underground gas pipelines, Ukraine's National Guard’s 2nd Khartiia Corps said on Oct. 22.
The operation, code-named "Veles," was carried out by the 2nd Khartiia Corps together with other Ukrainian units, according to the corps.
Khartiia commander Brig. Gen. Ihor Obolienskyi said Ukrainian forces had studied how Russian troops were using underground routes and anticipated that they would try to exploit major gas pipelines running through Kharkiv Oblast.
"The Russians intended to use the gas routes to penetrate the rear of our forces. So we went underground ourselves," Obolienskyi said.
According to Khartiia, Ukrainian troops moved through the pipelines before combining the underground advance with operations above ground, including drone strikes.
The corps said more than 30 Russian soldiers were captured during the operation and that Russian forces suffered more than 100 casualties. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify those figures.
Obolienskyi said the aim was both to stop Russian troops underground and to undermine tactics they had been using on the ground and from the air.
"We anticipated the enemy's actions and mastered the tactics of conducting combat operations underground," he said.
Russian forces have used gas pipelines on several occasions to move troops covertly around the Kupiansk sector. In January, Ukrainian troops said they had stopped a Russian assault involving about 50 soldiers attempting to advance through the Soyuz gas pipeline.
More recently, Khartiia said, Russian troops retreating near Kupiansk used civilians as human shields, leading a group that included children and elderly people to the Shebelinka–Ostrogozhsk pipeline and forcing them inside the pipe toward Russian-held territory. Ukrainian troops said they did not open fire, because civilians were present
"When the battlefield became transparent, the war went underground," the corps said when it first announced the operation on Oct. 21.