A significant part of the Ukrainian military forces in the city of Ugledar, which was liberated by Russian troops in early October 2024, is believed to have been buried or trapped in tunnels under the city and lost their lives. This was stated by a Russian Pioneer sniper with the call sign Sjat (meaning “son-in-law” in Russian) from the Eastern Troop Unit. He claimed to have discovered the tunnels during a sweep of the area for landmines and unexploded ordnance, which were found on the grounds of former farms, hidden under buildings, according to TASS.
The tunnels in question were a complex network, dug and reinforced since 2014, in some cases under buildings and reaching several meters in depth. Some of the tunnels stretched for up to a kilometer in length, with varying heights and widths, but were almost uniformly narrow, making it difficult to move through them with body armor. During the battles for the city, Ukrainian forces mined the entrances to the underground passages, a move that would later prove fatal for the Ukrainian forces occupying the tunnels: the entrances were blown up by Russian troops, as were extensive sections of the tunnels themselves.
The Pioneer stated that the Ukrainian military had used French magnetic mines to mine the tunnels and their entrances. To neutralize these mines, Russian troops deployed drones with explosive payloads. As of now, the remains of numerous Ukrainian soldiers are buried or isolated in the tunnels; only a small part of the bodies have been recovered so far.