Watch: Russian special forces crawl through gas pipelines to ambush Ukrainians
Ukraine has said its forces thwarted a surprise attack conducted by Russia through a gas pipeline in Kursk on Sunday, claiming enemy losses were 'very high'.
Russian special forces crept about 15km into a gas pipeline, spending several days inside, in an attempt to surprise Ukrainian forces near Sudzha in western Kursk, according to pro-Russian military bloggers.
The attack comes as Russia intensifies efforts to recapture the Kursk region, which Ukraine took eight months ago and has used as a strategic bargaining chip. The push to retake Kursk follows Donald Trump, the US president, cutting intelligence sharing with Ukraine, leaving Kyiv 'blind' to incoming attacks.
Ukraine's general staff confirmed that Russian 'sabotage and assault groups' attempted to use the pipeline to establish a foothold outside Sudzha but were 'detected in a timely manner'.
'At present, Russian special forces are being detected, blocked and destroyed. The enemy's losses in Sudzha are very high,' the general staff reported. Ukraine's air assault forces launched missile and artillery strikes, along with UAV systems, to target the invaders.
Credit: via Scopal
Earlier, Russian Telegram channels published videos of special forces in gas masks, some swearing, inside what looked like a large pipe. Sudzha, a crucial gas transfer hub, was once part of Russia's natural gas pipeline system to Europe. Kyiv has maintained its presence in the region as leverage in potential peace talks.
Ukraine's incursion into Kursk last August marked the most significant attack on Russian territory since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. Within days, Ukrainian units had captured 1,000 square kilometres of territory, including the strategic border town of Sudzha, and taken hundreds of Russian prisoners of war.
However in recent months, Russian forces have pushed Ukrainian troops back across the region, placing tens of thousands in danger of being encircled.
Open source maps on Friday showed Kyiv's contingent in Kursk on the verge of being surrounded after rapid Russian advances. Ukraine's soldiers in the region are also weary and bloodied by relentless assaults of more than 50,000 troops, including some from Russia's ally North Korea.
On Sunday, Russia claimed the capture of two villages in eastern Ukraine: Kostyantynopil in Donetsk and Novenke in Sumy. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said that recent advances by Russian forces against Ukraine in the Kursk region meant that Kyiv's soldiers were almost surrounded. In a post on Telegram about the fighting in Kursk, Medvedev wrote: 'The lid of the smoking cauldron is almost closed. The offensive continues.'
Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said on Sunday that Russian forces had launched more than 1,200 guided bombs, 870 drones, and over 80 missiles across Ukraine in the past week, resulting in at least 14 deaths on Friday and Saturday.
Russian advances in 2024 and the US president's shift in policy have caused fears among European leaders that Ukraine will lose the war and that Mr Trump is turning his back on Europe.
The US paused military aid and the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine this month after a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky descended into acrimony in front of the world's media.
Ukraine is set to hold negotiations with US officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with Washington hoping to forge a deal on a ceasefire and a 'framework' for a potential peace agreement.
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