MOSCOW, March 9 (Reuters) – In what appears to be a calculated maneuver, Russian special operations units infiltrated a major gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha, intending to catch Ukrainian troops off guard as part of a broader campaign to drive them out of the western region of Kursk, according to pro-Russian military commentators.

Last August, Ukrainian forces advanced into roughly 1,300 square kilometers of Russia’s Kursk territory. Kyiv described the move as a strategic ploy to strengthen its position in any eventual peace deals and to compel Russia to reassign forces from the eastern front in Ukraine.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported in a daily update that its forces had recaptured the settlement of Lebedevka and also taken control of Novenke, a small village just across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region.

Military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, a pro-Russian analyst originally from Ukraine, claimed that elite Russian troops traversed several miles inside a major gas conduit, remaining concealed for days before launching a surprise rear assault on Ukrainian positions near Sudzha.

Sudzha hosts critical infrastructure, including major stations used for measuring and transferring gas along a pipeline that formerly carried Russian natural gas into Ukraine for distribution across Europe.

The pro-Russian account “Two Majors” reported ongoing heavy fighting in Sudzha, stating that Ukrainian defenses were caught off balance after Russian forces entered the area via the gas pipeline.

Images shared by Russian Telegram groups depicted soldiers equipped with gas masks and flashlights, advancing through what appeared to be an enormous pipeline; some were seen using vibrant Russian expletives while navigating the tunnel.

Ukraine’s general staff issued a statement confirming that Russian troops attempted to exploit the gas pipeline to secure a position, but were rapidly identified by Ukrainian airborne units. The Ukrainian military responded with a combination of rocket fire, artillery strikes, and drone attacks aimed at neutralizing the Russian units within the pipeline.

Due to tight restrictions on war-zone reporting from both Ukraine and Russia, Reuters could not independently confirm these battlefield claims.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has sparked the most acute standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, prompting warnings from both U.S. and Russian officials that any major miscalculation could plunge the world into a broader war.

Russian territorial gains in 2024, combined with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s alleged reversal of Ukraine policy, have sparked concern among European leaders that Kyiv may falter in the war and that Washington is retreating from its commitments to the continent.

Earlier this month, the United States suspended its military support and intelligence cooperation with Ukraine following a tense and publicly contentious February 28 meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House.

Ukraine’s armed incursion into Kursk last year marked the most significant attack on Russian soil since Nazi Germany's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II.

In the months since, Russian troops have steadily pushed Ukrainian forces back along the Kursk axis, placing thousands of Ukrainian soldiers at serious risk of being encircled.

“Hostilities continued through the night in Sudzha,” Podolyaka stated, indicating portions of the town were now under Russian control.

Another military blogger, Yuri Kotenok, observed that Ukrainian troops appeared to be withdrawing hardware from Sudzha toward the Ukrainian border.

“At this stage, our units are pressing forward in north-eastern Sudzha, specifically near Lomonosov Street and the surrounding industrial area,” Kotenok reported.

The Soviet-era Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline, which previously transported gas from Siberia through Sudzha to Ukrainian networks, was officially shut down by Ukraine on January 1, ending all Russian gas transits across its territory.