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Russian Troops Exploit Abandoned Pipelines to Evade Ukrainian Defenses
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Struggling to make battlefield gains, Russian troops are increasingly using empty gas pipelines to covertly move soldiers and supplies under the frontline. Ukrainian officials report that near Kupyansk, a key rail hub southeast of Kharkiv, Russian units entered a decommissioned pipeline beneath the Oskil River in an attempt to bypass Ukrainian defenses.
According to Bloomberg on September 19, Moscow’s so-called “pipeline forces” are exploiting Soviet-era energy infrastructure as underground crawl spaces to avoid Ukrainian drone strikes. Analysts say this adaptation could become a larger part of Russia’s war strategy, given the dense network of gas pipelines across Ukraine.
Russia has not officially acknowledged the tactic. Ukraine’s military says it is countering the threat by flooding sections of the pipelines or lining them with barbed wire. Kyiv’s General Staff confirmed that the pipeline exit near Kupyansk is under Ukrainian control and does not lead into the city center.
The use of underground routes is not new. During the battle for Avdiivka in February 2024, Russian units infiltrated through sewer systems to breach Ukrainian lines. In March 2025, over 600 Russian troops advanced through a section of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod gas pipeline in the Kursk region, helping Moscow recapture the town of Sudzha. That incursion marked one of the Kremlin’s most publicized pipeline operations to date, Bloomberg reported.
Military bloggers have showcased videos of specialized equipment, including motorized carts, designed to transport soldiers silently through the pipelines. Russian state media has even aired footage of troops enduring hours in confined chambers with makeshift ventilation systems.
According to Bloomberg, Ukrainian officials stress that while pipelines offer Russia an unconventional way to evade surveillance, they also highlight Moscow’s mounting difficulties in sustaining conventional advances on the battlefield.
Earlier, it was reported that Russian forces on the Kupyansk front are likely taking casualties at a rate ten times higher than Ukrainian defenders. Commanders say that enemy troops are inadequately trained, short on supplies, and deprived of basic necessities including food and water.
