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Russia-Ukraine underground warfare tactics

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

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2026-10-23 14:53 UTC → 2026-10-23 20:06 UTC · added removed

Military forces in the Russia-Ukraine war are increasingly utilizing Soviet-era underground infrastructure, such as abandoned gas and industrial pipelines, to move troops and bypass aerial surveillance. While these tactics carry risks like oxygen deprivation, they allow assault groups to navigate beneath front lines. In the Kharkiv region near Kupiansk, Ukrainian forces conducted a specialized underground operation codenamed ‘Veles’. According to the 2nd Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine, soldiers traveled approximately 15 kilometers through the Shebelinka–Ostrozhnsk gas pipeline infrastructure, which runs under the Oskil River, to emerge behind Russian positions. Brigadier General Ihor Obolenskyi stated that Ukrainian forces studied Russian tactics to turn the infrastructure into a tactical advantage. The mission combined underground infiltration with simultaneous surface assaults and synchronized drone strikes. Ukrainian officials claim the operation resulted in the capture of over 30 Russian soldiers and more than 100 Russian casualties, though these figures have not been independently verified. Reports indicate that Russian forces have previously utilized similar methods in operations near Avdiivka in early 2024 and in the Kursk region near Sudzha in March 2025. Both By late 2026, the conflict has entered a phase characterized by intense subterranean combat. Due to drone dominance in the airspace making surface movement hazardous, both sides are reportedly developing methods to use utilizing abandoned Soviet-era gas and water pipelines. In the Kupiansk sector, the Ukrainian 13th Brigade ‘Khartia’ has been engaged in a war of attrition within these pipeline networks for both movement and defense, potentially utilizing months. Russian forces have used specialized units for underground operations. to navigate narrow pipes to establish machine-gun nests and improvised shelters. In response, Ukrainian forces have deployed small land-based robotic drones equipped with explosives to target Russian positions inside the pipes.

Versions

  1. 2026-10-23 20:06 UTC Russia-Ukraine underground warfare tactics
  2. 2026-10-23 14:53 UTC Russia-Ukraine underground warfare tactics
  3. 2026-10-22 22:13 UTC Russia-Ukraine underground warfare tactics

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