Skelia Regiment Soldiers Join Underground Operation in Kupiansk Sector

Soldiers of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment ‘Skelia’ took part in an underground operation in the Kupiansk sector alongside other units, clearing part of the gas pipeline used by Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions.

The formation reported this on its social media.

Russian forces used a main gas pipeline near Radkivka and Holubivka to covertly move troops into Kupiansk. Ukrainian assault troops were tasked with blocking this route, clearing the pipeline, and consolidating the positions.

At the same time, Ukrainian troops held positions near Radkivka to prevent further Russian advances from the north and maintain control over the approaches to the gas pipeline.

A soldier with the call sign Veselyi said his group took three days to traverse approximately five kilometres of the gas pipeline about one metre in diameter.

The ten soldiers moved one by one through mud and water. Their advance was hampered by a lack of air and temperature fluctuations: some sections were cold, while areas closer to the surface were extremely hot.

The operation lasted about two months. As a result, Ukrainian forces managed to push Russian troops back and restrict their use of the underground route.

During the operation, drones were used to monitor enemy troops, who were sometimes just 20 metres away. Ukrainian fighters set up barricades made of sandbags, installed machine guns, and blew up some sections of the pipeline.

However, simply destroying the pipeline was not enough: Russian forces bypassed the damaged sections, made new tie-ins, and continued using the underground route to move personnel.

The fighting was not only over control of the gas pipeline, but also over the logistical routes Russian forces had established inside it.

Militarnyi previously reported that Ukraine’s Defence Forces had conducted an underground counteroffensive operation Veles in the Kupiansk sector under the command of the 2nd Khartiia Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Ukrainian units advanced more than 15 kilometres through underground infrastructure, combining operations inside the pipelines with an offensive on the surface and drone strikes.