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Russian Troops Again Use Gas Pipeline to Sneak Into Ukraine, ISW Says
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian forces have resumed attempts to infiltrate Ukraine’s northern Sumy region through a major gas pipeline running across the border from Russia’s Kursk region, carrying out at least two such missions over the past week without securing an advance.
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According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on September 21, Russian troops have returned to using the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod gas pipeline connecting Ukraine’s Sumy region with the Russian city of Sudzha as a concealed route for infantry movements.
A spokesperson for Ukraine’s 8th Airborne Corps reported that Russian forces had attempted two infiltration missions through the pipeline during the previous week. ISW said it had observed at least two such operations in the Sumy region since September 13, including one involving a platoon-sized group.
One of the earlier attempts was reported on September 12, when Ukrainian forces struck roughly 10 Russian soldiers after they emerged from a pipeline leading from Russia’s Kursk region into Ukrainian territory.
A subsequent operation involved a larger Russian group attempting to reach Mala Korchakivka, north of Sumy. Ukrainian forces killed 29 Russian soldiers and wounded three during that assault, according to a Ukrainian brigade cited by ISW.
The renewed pipeline infiltrations come as Russian forces continue offensive operations along the northern Sumy front. ISW assessed that Russian troops conducted attacks in the area on September 20 and 21 but made no confirmed advances.
Russian forces have previously used underground infrastructure to bypass Ukrainian defenses. ISW noted that Russian troops employed pipelines during operations in Avdiivka in January 2024, Russia’s Kursk region in March 2025, and Kupiansk in September 2025.
Elsewhere along the northeastern front, ISW reported a recent Russian advance in Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region, based on geolocated footage showing Ukrainian strikes against Russian positions in the southern part of the city.
At the same time, the institute said available evidence did not support Russian Defense Ministry claims that Russian forces had captured Pilna and Novooleksandrivka. ISW assessed Russian positions to be as far as roughly 10 kilometers from Pilna and 25 kilometers from Novooleksandrivka.
In a separate operation in the Donetsk region, Ukraine’s Third Army Corps reported recapturing 125 square kilometers during the first two phases of Operation Vivaldi, including the liberation of Shandryholove and Derylove and full control of Drobysheve.
The corps said Ukrainian forces increasingly use drones and unmanned ground vehicles ahead of infantry during assaults, including deploying ground robotic systems by heavy drones more than 10 kilometers behind Russian lines.
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