Russia's New "Operation Trumpet" Turned Out To Be A Flop

The exit from the pipeline is under the control of the AFU.

On Friday evening, the Ukrainian project DeepState reported that the Russian military had again used a pipe to move its military, now in the area of Kupyansk. This was the occasion for triumphant posts in z-blogs about the Russian army's near breakthrough into the city. In fact, the significance of this operation in Russian sources is greatly exaggerated, say military analysts interviewed by "Agency".

On the evening of August 12, the Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState reported that Russian infantry and UAV operators were penetrating the outskirts of Kupyansk through the pipe of the main gas pipeline. The soldiers descend into it near the village of Liman First, cross the Oskol River through the pipe, and emerge without serious casualties near Radkovka, which is near the northern border of Kupyansk. According to DeepState, this journey of about 8 kilometers in a straight line takes about four days. To move in the pipe, specially designed lay-downs on wheels are used, as well as electric scooters, where the height allows, and special resting places are made along the way

This information is confirmed by a video taken from the pipe. It shows a military man lying on a recliner with wheels. The military man behind the scenes says that the length of the pipe is 4 km.

DeepState writes that organized groups of Russian military from Radkovka move to the controlled forest, and after disperse to Kupyansk and reach the railroad. Thus, this is the third time the Russians have used pipes to move their military: the first time it was in Avdeevka, the second time - near Suja, wrote a channel close to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, suggesting to call the described operation "Pipe 3.0".

Some z-bloggers filed this news as a breakthrough of the Russian Armed Forces. Military correspondent Alexander Kots (539,000 subscribers) called the operation a "Kupyansky breakthrough." "Many did not believe in success," he stated. "Our troops successfully conducted the operation "Pipe 3.0" near Kupyansk. The fighters stealthily sneaked into the city through an underground tunnel that was dug from the very First Liman. They went straight into residential neighborhoods, taking the enemy by surprise," WarGonzo (874,000 subscribers) wrote. "It seems that the main part of the operation was again carried out by the forces of the 60th ODSHBR "Veterans". This unit also participated in the development of Operation Potok in Suja," reported the Military Chronicle channel (310 thousand subscribers).

There were also skeptical comments. Yuri Podolyaka (3 million subscribers) complained that the enemy is now "aware that our units behind the western bank of the Oskol River are fed through the pipe of the main gas pipeline." "All this we prompted them ourselves, when the relevant information (we are talking about the video from the pipe - note) was leaked to the network a week ago by someone else," he wrote.

Military analysts interviewed by "Agency" draw attention to the fact that this time through the pipe the Russian military get not to the rear of the enemy, but to their own positions. "To attack Kupyansk from the north, the Russian military needed to create a bridgehead on the western bank of the Oskol and cross the river, and they carried out this operation long ago. They could not establish themselves there and provide safe crossings: each transfer of soldiers across the river was extremely risky, but having found another pipe, now the infantry more or less safely gets to Radkovka, and from there they penetrate into the northern neighborhoods of Kupyansk," explains Yan Matveev. But this route does not allow heavy weapons to be moved to the positions. The number of soldiers passing through the pipe is also limited.

The operation has had little impact on the front line in the area, says a military analyst from CIT in a conversation with "Agency". "There is no advance as such in Kupyansk, there are runs by scattered small groups and individual servicemen, including those dressed in civilian clothes," the expert said.

Matveev believes that revealing the route "will inevitably lead to its destruction" - the entry and exit points will simply be bombed.

The exit from the pipeline is under control, the AFU General Staff said on Saturday.

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