Ukrainian forces have advanced more than 15 kilometers underground during Operation Veles in the Kupiansk sector, eliminating more than 100 Russian troops and capturing over 30 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Axar.az reports that Zelensky announced the operation's initial results, carried out by the Khartiia 2nd Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard, in a post on X. He said Russian forces had previously attempted to use underground gas pipelines to move through Ukrainian positions and launch assault operations.

“Ukrainian warriors have successfully transformed this tactic, modernized it, and made it much more sophisticated and technologically advanced,” Zelensky said.

He added that the operation aimed to protect Ukrainian personnel, inflict losses on Russian forces and achieve military objectives in the Kupiansk sector.