Zelenskiy Says Ukraine Is Regaining Ground, Citing a Pipeline Operation Near Kupiansk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his Tuesday night address that his forces are winning back territory through several operations, describing the battlefield position as the best Kyiv has held in a long time during a war now in its fourth and a half year. He added that more air defence deliveries from Western partners could improve it further.

Operation Veles and the Underground Gas Pipelines

For the first time, Zelenskiy named Operation Veles, carried out near Kupiansk in the northeast. He said Russian troops tried to move beneath Ukrainian lines through underground gas pipelines, and that Ukrainian soldiers reversed the tactic and used the same infrastructure against them. He called the operation well planned and driven by technology.

Vivaldi and Other Offensives

He also mentioned an air assault in the east and Operation Vivaldi, aimed at stopping Russian advances in key areas. A senior commander said last month that Ukraine’s Third Army Corps cleared 75 square kilometres of infiltrators and retook another 10. The effort sits north of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the so called fortress belt that Russia would need to take the whole Donbas. In August, Zelenskiy reported 26 villages returned in a southern push.

Moscow says it favours a full settlement over a brief ceasefire and plans to keep pushing for all of Donbas.