File image.
The Russian military broke through Ukrainian defenses in Kupyansk on September 13, with troops entering the city via an inactive gas pipeline in a complex and risky operation.
The breakthrough in the Kharkiv direction was first reported by Ukrainian media, including the Deep State channel on Ukraine, only to be confirmed later by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) which claimed in a statement that the situation in Kupyansk was “under control”.
Russian troops reportedly entered the pipeline – the only one out of four leading to Kupyansk that was not flooded by the AFU – from the settlement of Lyman Pershiy, more than four kilometers away. Work to set up the underground route reportedly took four days. Resting and resupply points were established along the pipeline.
While working in the pipeline, the troop encountered barbed wire deployed by the AFU, but were able to deal with the obstacle.
The troops used custom-built wheeled platforms and electronic scooters to move faster through the pipeline, and after emerging, entered Kupyansk under the cover of a forest already under the control of the Russian military to the south of the nearby settlement of Radkivka.
Addressing the Russian breakthrough, the General Staff of the AFU said in a statement that the situation in Kupyansk was “under control”. It added that a “counter-sabotage operation” was being conducted in the city, effectively confirming that Russian troops were operating there.
Meanwhile, commander of the Ukraine’s 429th Unmanned Systems “Achilles” Regimen, Yuriy Fedorenko, told the public broadcaster Suspilne that the Russians managed to enter the northern outskirts of Kupyansk.
On the other side, Russian media reported that the pipeline operation was only a apart of a much larger offensive targeting Kupyansk. It played a critical role, however, as it provided a save and concealed route to move troops and supplies towards the city.
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The breakthrough in Kupyansk was a blow to Kiev, not only because it allowed Russian troops to enter the city, but also because it showed that the AFU learned nothing from past battles in which the Russian military also used pipelines to bypass defenses.
In January 2024, Russian troops used tunneling tactics during the battle of Avdiivka in the Donetsk direction to break through Ukrainian positions in the south of the city. Later in July of the same year, during the battle of Toretsk in the same direction, the same units that participated in the Avdiivka tunnel raid managed to cut into the Ukrainian defenses near the settlements Pivnichne and Druzhba.
In addition, Russian troops traveled through the disused Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline to infiltrate behind Ukrainian lines near Sudzha during the Kursk offensive, effectively helping liberate the city in record time.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has not yet commented on the reported breakthrough in Kupyansk or advance in nearby areas.
Considering the attention from the media and all the criticism, the AFU will likely focus on Kupyansk, possibly even deploy reinforcements there at the cost of other directions in order to prevent a complete collapse in the city. This could, of course, cause a collapse especially near Prosyana, Pokrovske, kostyantynivka or Seversk between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk.
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bakhmut fortress! all ukrainians do is win!
mariupol fortress will never fall! hehehehehehe
hunter biden, is that you? sounds like your still smoking the crack pipe!!
fell for the ol’ pipeline trick again, i see.
i have had to do work in pipes like that, and traverse along pipes like that. i don’t have any especially bad claustrophobia but having to traverse hundreds of meters in those takes a mentality a lot of people don’t have.
especially when the enemy catching you will result in certain death. it would be like shooting fish in a barrel.
me too, you just finish your work and go home. the russian plan !
the ukrainians must have tunnel vision.
sneaky, land in the front lines fully supported and easy to re supply.