How a gas pipeline helped Russia mount a rear strike against Ukrainian troops in Kursk

Russian special forces used an underground gas pipeline to infiltrate Ukrainian positions and launch a rear assault in the Kursk region, a key battleground in Moscow’s efforts to reclaim territory lost to Ukraine’s surprise cross-border offensive.

According to Ukraine’s military and Russian war bloggers, Russian operatives walked approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) inside the pipeline, navigating through narrow tunnels before emerging behind Ukrainian lines near the strategic border town of Sudzha.

The covert manoeuvre, which allowed them to bypass Ukrainian defences undetected, highlights Russia’s evolving battlefield tactics in a conflict that has increasingly relied on unconventional warfare.

Pipeline as a stealth route

The gas pipeline, once a major route for Russian natural gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, provided a concealed passage for Russian special forces. War blogger Yuri Podolyaka, who is pro-Kremlin and Ukrainian-born, claimed on Telegram that some Russian troops had spent several days inside the pipeline before launching their assault.

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Another war blogger, known as Two Majors, described intense battles around Sudzha, saying Russian forces had entered the town through the pipeline. Russian Telegram channels circulated photos purporting to show special forces operatives wearing gas masks inside what appeared to be a large pipe.

Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed the Russian manoeuver, describing it as a “sabotage and assault” operation. In a Telegram post on Saturday (March 8), the military stated that Russian troops were detected in time and countered with rockets and artillery fire.

Battle for Sudzha

The town of Sudzha, which had around 5,000 residents before Russia’s 2022 invasion, sits on a key gas transit corridor. Ukraine captured the town in August 2024 as part of a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, marking the largest Ukrainian attack on Russian soil since World War II.

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The operation, which saw Kyiv seize 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of territory and take hundreds of Russian prisoners, was aimed at gaining a bargaining chip in future peace talks and forcing Russia to redirect troops from eastern Ukraine.

Months later, Ukraine’s forces in Kursk are under relentless pressure from over 50,000 Russian troops, including North Korean soldiers deployed alongside Russian units. Open-source battlefield maps indicate that tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers risk encirclement as Russian forces intensify their counteroffensive.

Despite Russia’s attempt to gain a foothold outside Sudzha, Ukraine’s military claims the special forces units were detected, blocked, and destroyed.

Escalation in unconventional warfare

The use of gas pipelines for infiltration reflects a growing trend of nontraditional tactics in the conflict. Similar underground warfare strategies have been employed in urban battles, particularly in Mariupol and Bakhmut, where tunnels and underground networks played a crucial role in both defence and offence.

For now, Ukraine says it has repelled the Russian rear attack in Kursk.

With inputs from AP