Ukraine’s Khartiia Brigade described an operation in the Kharkiv region in which its troops advanced 15 kilometers behind Russian lines through a network of underground infrastructure.
The operation, code-named “Veles,” allowed Ukrainian forces to break out of a positional stalemate on the Kupiansk axis, according to a Khartiia statement obtained by The Insider.
Khartiia said Russian forces lost about 100 troops killed and another 30 captured during the operation. The brigade also said the assault prevented Russian troops from reaching the rear of Kupiansk.
“We watched how the enemy was operating underground. The Russians intended to use gas pipelines to infiltrate the rear of our forces. So we went underground ourselves. We got ahead of the enemy and mastered the tactics of underground combat,” said Khartiia commander Brig. Gen. Ihor Obolensky.
At the same time as the underground advance, brigade units also moved forward above ground, striking Russian forces on two levels simultaneously.
Drones from the Achilles Unmanned Systems Brigade also took part in the operation.
Underground, Ukrainian troops operated without GPS, reliable radio communications, or natural light. Before the mission, the soldiers underwent physical and psychological preparation for working in confined spaces.
Combat engineers, sappers, and the brigade’s support battalion prepared the underground route.
The operation was named after Veles, a deity from Slavic mythology associated with the underworld.
