Ukraine Takes the War Underground—First Footage of Secret Operation VELES Emerges

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1. 55m ago

   Ukraine Launches Secret Underground Counteroffensive Operation Veles

   Ukrainian forces have executed a covert underground counteroffensive named Operation Veles on the Kupiansk front, moving through subterranean infrastructure to emerge behind Russian lines. The Khartiia Corps released the first footage of the secret operation, which involved National Guard soldiers traveling more than 15 kilometers through Soviet-era gas pipelines. The unusual assault caught Russian forces by surprise as troops infiltrated deep into the rear to combat heavy aerial surveillance and drone threats that have made traditional surface roads too dangerous.

   Why it matters

   Constant aerial drone surveillance and hazardous surface conditions have increasingly driven ground combat underground in eastern Ukraine, forcing military brigades to adapt their tactics. Subterranean infrastructure and pipeline networks offer a hidden route to bypass heavily fortified surface kill zones where drones and artillery dominate open terrain. This subterranean infiltration marks a significant tactical shift in the protracted conflict.

   What is confirmed

   • Ukrainian forces advanced more than 15 kilometers through underground routes during Operation Veles on the Kupiansk front.
   • National Guard soldiers and troops from the Khartiia Corps carried out the secret underground operation.
   • Troops used Soviet-era gas pipelines and underground infrastructure to infiltrate behind Russian lines.

   Still unconfirmed

   • The operation resulted in killing over 100 enemies.
   • Ukrainian forces captured more than 30 Russian soldiers during the operation.

   What to watch next

   • Further official military assessments or casualty verifications from the Kupiansk sector
   • Additional visual documentation or battlefield reports concerning subterranean warfare tactics
   Sources used for this update (20)

   1. The New York Times — How Drones Created a Kill Zone in the Ukraine War
   2. The Washington Post — Netting, drone detectors and shotguns are all part of survival in eastern Ukraine
   3. UNITED24 Media — The Trap Was Only 100 Meters Wide. Russian Troops Kept Walking Into Ukraine’s Kill Zone
   4. UNITED24 Media — Ukraine Takes the War Underground—First Footage of Secret Operation VELES Emerges
   5. Engelsberg Ideas — A debrief with Ukraine’s soldiers
   6. SOFREP — Beyond the Drone: Rethinking How We Fight and Defend America
   7. The New York Times — In the Kill Zone
   8. Verkkouutiset — Ukraine’s brigade goes underground as drones make roads too dangerous
   9. New Times.Ru — Трагедия Украины и новая гонка вооружений
   10. Цензор.НЕТ — War has gone underground: "Khartiia" releases footage of Operation "Veles". VIDEO
   11. WSJ — The Subterranean Battle Playing Out Deep in Ukraine’s Soviet-Era Pipelines
   12. Kyiv Post — ‘We Outplayed Them’: Ukraine Claims First Underground Counteroffensive
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