Operation Veles near Kupiansk: Zelenskyy Reports 15 km Underground Advance and Hundreds of Destroyed Occupants

Special Operation Veles in the Kupiansk Direction

In the Kupiansk direction, Ukraine's Defense Forces are conducting a special operation codenamed Veles. According to RBC-Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this, reporting the first results of its combat deployment. According to the head of state, the operation is being carried out by the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Khartia'. Ukrainian media reported that Mykhailo Drapatyi, Ihor Obolenskyi, and Pavlo Palisa participated in the briefing on the progress of the operation and its initial results.

Underground Advance Through Gas Infrastructure

The president called the tactic of underground advance a key feature of Operation Veles. Zelenskyy recalled that the Russian military had previously tried to use underground gas infrastructure to pass through the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and launch assault operations. According to him, Ukrainian warriors «successfully transformed this tactic, modernized it, made it significantly more thoughtful and technological». Thus, according to the president's statement, the Ukrainian side adopted and refined a method initially used by the enemy.

Results According to the President's Statement

Zelenskyy cited specific figures: «Over a hundred Russian occupiers have already been destroyed, more than thirty taken prisoner. Underground advance is over 15 kilometers». The head of state emphasized that such tactics allow for «saving the lives of our people, inflicting damage on the occupier, and achieving certain goals in the Kupiansk direction». These data were announced by the president in his address and transmitted by Ukrainian news agencies.

Context: ISW Analytics on Operation Vivaldi

Earlier, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on the results of another Ukrainian operation — Vivaldi. According to analysts, during this operation, the Ukrainian military inflicted such damage on the 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian Armed Forces that the formation effectively ceased to exist as an organized combat unit. These ISW assessments are provided as additional context to the general dynamics of combat operations in the eastern sector of the front, where, according to Kyiv's statements, underground tactics are also being employed.