Russia Claims It's Using Tunnels to Get Behind Enemy Lines in Ukraine

Russian forces are digging tunnels to get behind enemy lines in Ukraine and launch attacks, the Russian Defense Ministry has said.

Assault units deployed in Ukraine's occupied eastern Donetsk region captured a "major stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces" on the eastern outskirts of rural Pivnichne using an underground tunnel, the defense ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Sunday.

Moscow's forces are pushing to make significant gains in eastern Ukraine. The Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which comprise the Donbas area, are suffering constant shelling.

The Kremlin has been pushing for the total capture of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since Russia's initial invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014, and continues to make gains in these areas amid the ongoing full-scale war, which began in 2022.

"The detachment's servicemen secretly cleared and used a tunnel more than 3 kilometers [1.9 miles] long along the Seversky Donets Canal and entered the rear of a well-fortified stronghold with long-term firing points and underground shelters," the defense ministry said.

"Through the tunnel, the servicemen established a supply of ammunition, weapons and food for the assault troops."

The defense ministry added: "Using the element of surprise, the unit's servicemen developed their success and completely captured the stronghold, forcing the enemy to surrender or abandon their positions and retreat."

Newsweek has contacted Ukrainian authorities for comment by email.

Ukrainian forces first reported last fall that Russian forces were deploying the tactic on the battlefield in the fight for the embattled fortress town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.

"As for the Russians' tactics. Our war is often compared to World War I. On the Avdiivka front [the Russians] have started using the tactic of digging tunnels," Anton Kotsukon, spokesperson for the Marko Bezruchko 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said on national television in October 2023.

"They're digging them close to our positions. First, [this aids with] concealment. Second, they can then unexpectedly emerge close to our positions," said Kotsukon.

"Our defense officers have also spotted the Russians using robotic vehicles that serve as remote-controlled vehicles; they're used to deliver ammunition... These are some sort of special vehicles; they're quite big, and they can carry a decent load," the spokesperson added.

Russia in October 2023 launched a major offensive on the key front-line town of Avdiivka. It had been the target of Moscow's forces' aggression since 2014 when Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed the southern Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

The town fell to Russian forces on February 17. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the decision to withdraw his forces from the town was made to save the lives of his soldiers.

Avdiivka's capture marked Moscow's biggest victory for months.

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