Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation
Operation 'Veles' involved underground communications and drone strikes, resulting in captured Russian soldiers and casualties.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Ukraina zbulon detaje nga operacioni në Kupiansk, forcat përparuan mbi 15 kilometra përmes rrugëve nëntokësore
Photograph: Telegrafi (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Ukrainian forces advanced more than 15 kilometers through underground communications in the Kupyansk direction.
- The operation, codenamed 'Veles', was coordinated with surface units and drone strikes.
- Over 30 Russian soldiers were captured, and Russian forces suffered more than 100 casualties.
- The operation involved units including the 'Charter' corps and other Defense Forces units.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 7 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 11 of the 18 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
65/100
Hype
45/100
18 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 7 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Ukrainian forces have conducted an underground operation in the Kupyansk direction, advancing over 15 kilometers through subterranean communications. The operation, codenamed 'Veles', was carried out by the 'Charter' corps and other units of the Defense Forces. It involved coordinated actions with surface units and drone strikes.
According to claims made by the Ukrainian side, the operation resulted in the capture of over 30 Russian soldiers. Russian forces reportedly suffered over 100 casualties. These figures have been published by the Ukrainian side and have not been independently confirmed.
Disagreement on the nature of the operation
Telegrafi reported that Ukrainian forces advanced through underground roads, penetrating the rear of Russian forces. ZN.UA stated that Ukrainian soldiers advanced through underground communications into enemy rear, sabotaging an attempt by Russians to enter the Kupyansk rear. Portfolio reported that Ukrainian soldiers advanced through underground gas pipelines to get behind Russian forces. RMF24.pl reported that soldiers covered 15 km of gas pipelines. Index.hr reported that Ukrainian forces infiltrated behind Russian soldiers after crossing through underground gas pipelines. Gwara Media reported that the defense forces passed through underground communications to the rear of the Russians.
Omissions
None of the reports below mention the specific names of all the units involved in the operation, beyond the 'Charter' corps and other Defense Forces units. The full reports from Telegrafi and ZN.UA mention additional participating units, but these details were not consistently carried across all digests.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 22 Oct 2026, 12:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation
ZN.UA Зеркало недели — embedded from source
Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation
Gwara — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on the underground advance and its scale. Telegrafi reported that Ukrainian forces advanced over 15 kilometers through underground roads, penetrating the rear of Russian forces. Index.hr reported that Ukrainian forces infiltrated behind Russian soldiers after crossing about 15 kilometers through underground gas pipelines. Kyiv Post highlighted that Ukrainian troops traveled over 15 kilometers underground near Kupiansk, coordinating their assault with surface advances and drone strikes. Gwara Media reported that the defense forces advanced more than 15 km to the rear of the Russians in Kupyansk region, passing through underground communications.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the underground counter-offensive and its tactical implications. ZN.UA reported that Ukrainian military sabotaged an attempt by Russians to enter the Kupyansk rear through an underground counter-offensive of 15 km. Portfolio stated that Ukrainian soldiers advanced about 15 kilometers through underground gas pipelines to get behind Russian forces in the Kupyansk area, citing the Kyiv Independent and the 2nd Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation?
- Of the 7 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 71% are rated left, 29% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 18. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 7 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation biased?
- Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Ukraine forces advance 15km underground in Kupyansk operation?
- 18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How far did Ukrainian forces advance underground?
- Ukrainian forces advanced over 15 kilometers through underground communications in the Kupyansk direction as part of Operation 'Veles'. This advance allowed them to penetrate the rear of Russian positions.
- What were the reported casualties and captures?
- According to Ukrainian claims, over 30 Russian soldiers were captured during the operation. Russian forces reportedly suffered more than 100 casualties. These figures have not been independently confirmed.
- What was the nature of Operation 'Veles'?
- Operation 'Veles' was an underground counter-offensive conducted by Ukrainian forces in the Kupyansk direction. It involved advancing through subterranean communications and was coordinated with surface units and drone strikes.
Read it at the source
18 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Ukraine Reveals Details of the Operation in Kupiansk, Forces Advanced over 15 Kilometers Through Underground Roads (opens Telegrafi in a new tab)
- VIDEO Ukrainians: We Made Our Way 15 Km Through Pipes and Captured Russian Soldiers (opens IndexHR in a new tab)
- ‘We Outplayed Them’: Ukraine Claims First Underground Counteroffensive (opens Kyiv Post in a new tab)
- "Kharthia" Carried Out an Underground Counter-Offensive "Veles" Under Kupansk (opens charter97.org in a new tab)
charter97.org — is charter97.org biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The Defense Forces Advanced More than 15 Km to the Rear of the Russians in Kupyansk Region (opens Gwara in a new tab)
Centre
2- The Ukrainians Carried Out an Amazing Operation: They Spied on the Trick From Moscow (opens Portfolio in a new tab)
Portfolio — is Portfolio biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Underground Counter-Offensive at 15 Km: Ukrainian Military Sabotaged an Attempt by Russians to Enter the Kupyansk Rear. (opens ZN.UA Зеркало недели in a new tab)
ZN.UA Зеркало недели — is ZN.UA Зеркало недели biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
11- Ukraine: We Carried Out a 15-Kilometer Counterattack – Underground (opens T&T in a new tab)
- Ukrainian Soldiers Advance More than 15 Km Through the Gas Pipeline and Break Through Behind Russian Positions Near Kupyansk (opens Klix in a new tab)
- Ukrainian Defenders Have Carried Out Operation "Veles" in the Direction of Kupyansk, Giving the Occupiers an Unpleasant Surprise. (opens jauns.lv in a new tab)
- “Charter” Implemented the First Counteroffensive Underground: Details of the Veres Operation in Kharkiv Region (opens 1news.com.ua in a new tab)
1news.com.ua — is 1news.com.ua biased? Our profile of this outlet
- VIDEO Ukrainians Copied Russian Tactics: They Went 15 Kilometers Underground and Surprised Russian Forces (opens rijekadanas.com in a new tab)
rijekadanas.com — is rijekadanas.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Soldiers Cover 15 Km of Gas Pipelines. Ukrainian Operation on an Unprecedented Scale (opens rmf24.pl in a new tab)
- Ukrainians Launched an Underground Counteroffensive. "The First Operation of Its Kind in the World" (opens Rzeczpospolita in a new tab)
Rzeczpospolita — is Rzeczpospolita biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ukrainian Military Infiltrated the Rear of the Russians Underground (opens Unknown in a new tab)
Unknown
Show 3 more
- “The Russians Who Were Soaked in Gas Were Repelled” — More than 100 Occupiers Were Destroyed in Kupyansk During an Underground Operation (opens armyinform.com.ua in a new tab)
armyinform.com.ua — is armyinform.com.ua biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ukrainian Troops Went on an Underground Counteroffensive for the First Time in the World: They Broke Through for Kilometers (opens ТСН.ua in a new tab)
- Khartiia Carries Out Underground Counter-Offensive on the Kupiansk Front (opens LB.ua in a new tab)
How did this read?
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