Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Oct. 27 that Ukrainian forces had recaptured territory and that the country’s front-line positions are now the strongest they have been in a long time since the start of the war with Russia.
He received a briefing that day from Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces; Khartiia Corps Cmdr. Ihor Obolenskyi; and Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa on Operation Veles. The Second Corps of the National Guard’s Khartiia unit is conducting the underground counteroffensive in the Kupiansk sector of the Kharkiv region, Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram.
More than 100 Russian soldiers were killed and more than 30 taken prisoner. Ukrainian forces advanced more than nine miles underground through gas pipelines, Zelenskyy said.
Russian troops had previously tried to use those same underground gas pipelines to move past Ukrainian positions and launch assaults. Ukrainian warriors adopted the tactic, and bolstered it with surface operations and drone strikes.
Operation Veles marks “the third landmark operation of the year,” Zelenskyy said, with Ukraine’s positions in Khartiia strengthened. It shows that Russian forces are not achieving the results their political leadership set out for them near Kupiansk.
An earlier airborne assault forces operation reclaimed more than 309 square miles from Russian control, and Operation Vivaldi had reclaimed about 107 square miles in the northern Donetsk region and disrupted Russia’s plans, he said.
“It is important to note that this year, Ukraine’s positions on the front remain stronger than they have been in a long time during this war,” Zelenskyy said in a video address. “If partner support stayed equally strong—especially on Patriots and other air-defense systems—Ukraine would be in a completely different position, a much better one diplomatically as well.”
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store spoke with Zelenskyy on Oct. 27 after their own call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy thanked them for the detailed briefing and for backing diplomatic efforts. He noted that the two leaders had pressed Putin for concrete steps to reduce attacks on energy and infrastructure, and that the three also reviewed plans for the upcoming Russian-Ukrainian-American trilateral talks set for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
The agreement to resume peace negotiations followed Putin’s Oct. 21 meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff. Moscow indicated that the discussions, centered on security guarantees for both sides, could begin as soon as Nov. 10.
Ukrainian forces reported on Oct. 14 that Operation Vivaldi had freed additional ground in Donetsk. The Defense Ministry said the push returned Kolodiazi, Lypove, and Zelena Dolyna to Ukrainian control, accounting for 39 square miles, and that the broader operation had liberated 16 towns and villages totaling 107 square miles.
Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Andrii Biletskyi stated that the Kremlin’s goal of seizing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions would not be realized in the near term. The Third Army Corps is carrying out the operation north of Sloviansk.
The Institute for the Study of War said earlier this month that Ukraine has retaken the operational initiative across most major front sectors and has been challenging Russia’s strategic initiative since late 2025.
Victoria Friedman contributed to this report.
