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Ukraine Builds Combat Robots to Hunt Russian Troops Inside Underground Gas Pipelines
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Ukraine is developing specialized combat robots designed to operate inside underground gas pipelines and counter Russian troops in confined spaces, following a military operation in which Ukrainian forces advanced more than 15 kilometers through subterranean infrastructure behind Russian lines near Kupiansk.
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According to Ukraine’s 2nd National Guard Corps Khartiia, specialists from its Lava Unmanned Systems Regiment are adapting unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to navigate narrow pipelines and conduct combat and reconnaissance missions underground.
The project emerged from lessons learned during Operation Veles, when Ukrainian soldiers used underground infrastructure to penetrate Russian rear positions in the Kupiansk sector.
The commander of Lava’s ground robotic systems battalion, known by the callsign Matematyk, said underground warfare requires an entirely different technological approach compared with conventional battlefield operations.
“There is a very long list of tasks that need to be accomplished to fight underground and counter the enemy underground. This is a new class of technologies and challenges that we will have to confront,” the commander said.
Unlike conventional ground robots designed to operate across open terrain, the new systems must be compact enough to move through narrow gas pipelines while performing specialized military tasks.
Existing civilian underground machinery is primarily designed for large-scale construction, tunneling, and drilling, making it unsuitable for the confined spaces encountered during military operations inside pipelines.
Khartiia engineers are currently developing several robotic projects intended to address these limitations. The primary objective is to deploy machines in dangerous underground environments where soldiers would otherwise face significant risks during reconnaissance, combat, or operations to clear enemy positions.
“War is already underground, and it will expand. The question is how we adapt to this war,” Matematyk said.
The development follows Operation Veles, during which Ukrainian forces moved more than 15 kilometers through underground communications infrastructure to reach Russian positions from behind.
The mission combined underground troop movements with coordinated attacks by Ukrainian units operating on the surface and drone strikes against Russian forces. According to Khartiia, more than 100 Russian soldiers were killed during the operation, while over 30 others were captured.
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