As of September 17, Russian troops had purportedly advanced up to Kupyansk\u2019s northern outskirts, and possibly into the city\u2019s limits.<\/p>\n
If nothing else, however, it highlights both the ingenuity, or recklessness, of Russian commanders, and growing experience in undertaking risky operations.<\/p>\n
Excavation Under Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n Much of the pipeline network that spreads throughout Ukraine was built in the Soviet era, and Ukrainian experts said it was likely that Russian military engineers have detailed maps and schematics of the system.<\/p>\n According to Deep State, which first highlighted the operation late last week, Russians units entered the local, unused pipeline network in the village of Lyman Pershiy, which is about 20 kilometers northwest of Kupyansk, on the opposite, eastern bank of the Oskil River.<\/p>\n Units built low-slung wheeled carts and used electric scooters to move through the pipes, an assertion backed up in part by multiple videos published on Russian-linked Telegram channels. Moving under the Oskil, at a depth up to 2 meters, units took about four days to reach Radkivka, on Kupyansk\u2019s northern outskirts. Food caches were set up along the way as well.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a pity that the experiences of Avdiyivka and Sudzha were not taken into account,\u201d Deep State said in a commentary accompanying its findings. \u201cBut once again, we want to believe that this \u201cpipe\u201d will finally serve as a lesson\u201d for Ukrainian forces.<\/p>\n Ukrainian military officials responded by partially confirming the subterranean operation, also claiming that only a few Russian soldiers managed to emerge from the pipeline and take up forward positions, and that most had either been killed or captured.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exit from the pipeline that the enemy tried to use to move personnel into Kupyansk is under the control of Ukrainian defenders. The pipeline does not lead directly into the city,\u201d the General Staff said in a statement<\/strong><\/a> on September 12.<\/p>\n In one video that was released to a prominent Ukrainian war blogger, a man identified as a Russian prisoner of war said officers sent soldiers into the pipeline in groups of 10; men who balked were tied up and beaten, the man said. He said he crawled, and used carts and scooters, to travel around 13 kilometers.<\/p>\n About 70 Russians had made it through the pipeline when they were confronted by Ukrainian troops, the soldier said. Commanders ordered the surrounded Russian troops to blow themselves up.<\/p>\n The video could not be independent verified.<\/p>\n Russian forces crossed the Oskil River easily when they invaded in 2022 but were beaten back months later in a rout that embarrassed the Kremlin. (file photo)<\/p>\n Yuriy Fedorenko, a unit commander with Ukraine’s 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Regiment, said that Russian troops managed to poke holes in several places in the pipelines, particularly in wooded areas, which afforded them cover to emerge and scatter undetected by Ukrainian drones.<\/p>\n Ukrainian forces had destroyed one or more branches of the pipelines, making it impassible, Fedorenko told Donbas Realities, a program of RFE\/RL\u2019s Ukrainian Service<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/a2399838-b4dc-4e06-d408-08ddd9680e0d_w250_r0_s.jpg\"\/)
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