Russia Continues To Send Soldiers To Their Death By Gas Pipe Every Day To Take Over Kupyansk
4- 19.01.2026, 20:25
- 5,776
Ukrainian drone operators have all the exits in their sights.
Russian headquarters maps have listed the town of Kupyansk, a major railroad hub in Kharkiv Oblast, as "liberated" for two months now - at least since November Vladimir Putin has received several reports of its capture. In fact, there are still about a hundred or so Russian soldiers hiding in the main part of the city, with the rest of the Ukrainian armed forces knocked out, The Washington Post wrote from the front lines. But that doesn't stop Russian commanders from sending new soldiers every day through the old gas pipe that runs through the Oskol River.
POWs told Ukrainian soldiers about the pipe as early as last summer. Then the AFU was on the verge of losing Kupyansk, and the units defending it appealed to the command to urgently send well-trained units. This was done, and in late September the AFU units launched a full-fledged counteroffensive and practically liberated the town by December, when Putin invited foreign journalists to the town, declaring that Kupyansk was "completely in our hands."
The information about the gas pipeline allowed the AFU to determine the exit points from it and block the transfer of Russian troops from the opposite bank of the Oskol. The constant annihilation of soldiers climbing out of the pipe did not make the occupation army commanders change tactics. "If they have anything, it's manpower," a lieutenant colonel of the 13th Operational Brigade "Charter" with the call sign Abat told WaPo. - "Just like I use drones, they use people."
"They're sending them through the pipeline just to test us," he added. - If they drop 10 people, maybe two will make it to their destination."
Ukrainian drone operators, who have taken every exit in their sights, take down soldiers climbing out of the pipe every day. WaPo correspondents, staying with the operators in cover, observed such a sweep. According to Ukrainian commanders, the attackers move about 15 kilometers along the pipe, sometimes using electric scooters that must be ridden in a half-sitting position. Some soldiers emerge from the pipe showing signs of chemical poisoning.
Anton Shmygal, commander of the 1st Battalion, 429th Achilles Unmanned Systems Brigade, told WaPo that his men have studied the plans for the pipe and destroyed any hiding places nearby to prevent soldiers emerging from it from quickly hiding somewhere.
In November, Schmygal organized strikes against underwater sections of the pipeline, dropping bombs from drones. For the next two weeks, none emerged from it, and the enemy were forced to cross the river on rafts. But then new entrances were built on the Russian side, and troops began to be sent through the pipeline again.
The AFU estimates that fewer than 100 Russian soldiers remain in Kupyansk, but it's a big city, you can search through basements for months, says Vitaly, commander of the Achilles unit. In addition, Russian drones are also constantly flying over the destroyed neighborhoods, and more and more groups are trying to cross the river or through the gas pipeline.
Nevertheless, Vitaliy considers it an "obvious, significant and notable victory" that the AFU prevented heavy Russian equipment from entering the city and trapped enemy soldiers in an area of about 1 square kilometer.
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