OddsFrontZelensky reveals Operation Veles, a 15 km underground advance near Kupiansk
Ukraine’s president says National Guard troops tunnelled through gas pipelines behind Russian lines in Kharkiv Oblast, reversing a tactic Moscow’s forces had used against Ukrainian positions in the area.
Ukrainian forces have advanced more than 15 kilometres underground into the Russian rear near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 27, disclosing an operation code-named Veles. The Kyiv Independent and Ukrainska Pravda both carried his account.
Zelensky said the push had already cost the Russian side heavily. In his words, more than 100 Russian troops had been eliminated and more than 30 taken prisoner. He described the figures as initial results, and the operation as still under way.
Who carried it out
According to the Kyiv Independent, the operation was conducted by the 2nd Khartiia Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard, working together with other units. Zelensky wrote on X that he had been briefed on progress by Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi, corps commander Ihor Obolienskyi and Pavlo Palisa, a deputy head of the presidential office.
The Kyiv Independent converted the underground distance to roughly 9 miles. Ukrainska Pravda added that the Khartiia Corps itself had earlier reported the same advance of more than 15 km through tunnels behind Russian lines, along with the capture of more than 30 Russian soldiers.
A tactic turned around
Zelensky framed the operation as an answer to Russian methods. Russian forces, he said, had previously tried to use underground gas pipelines to slip past Ukrainian positions and mount assaults. “Ukrainian warriors have successfully transformed this tactic, modernised it, and made it much more sophisticated and technologically advanced,” he said, adding that Ukraine was protecting its own people while inflicting losses on the occupiers.
The Kyiv Independent recalled that the Russian approach had been documented in the area. On Sept. 12, the Ukrainian monitoring group DeepState reported that Russian troops had used a gas pipeline to cross the Oskil River and get inside Ukrainian defences near Kupiansk. The Khartiia Corps said on Oct. 22 that its troops had infiltrated Russian rear positions through pipelines as part of Veles, so the operation was first made public several days before Zelensky’s remarks.
What is still unclear
The casualty and prisoner figures come from Zelensky and Ukrainian units. Neither outlet reported independent confirmation or a response from Moscow. Nor did they say how much ground the units hold, whether the underground route is still in use, or how long the operation is expected to continue.
The announcement came on a day when other developments dominated the Ukrainian news cycle. The Kyiv Independent reported that Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv overnight, hitting a university campus, a major bridge over the Dnipro and other sites. It said Moscow, whose battlefield offensive has slowed, has leaned on mass aerial strikes while Ukraine faces a shortage of air defence.
The same outlet also reported a localised ceasefire in Russian-occupied Oleshky, which U.S. First Lady Melania Trump said had been expanded within Kherson Oblast. It is meant to allow civilians to be evacuated and aid to be delivered, and Ukrainian officials said it runs until Nov. 1.