The attack occurred near a key metering facility in the Kursk region of Russia which would be key to any resumption of gas pipeline shipments via Ukraine to countries including Slovakia and Hungary
Russian paratroopers have used a segment of a disused strategic gas trunkline to launch a surprise attack on territory in the Kursk region currently controlled by Ukraine’s military.
The occurred at the end of the last week near the Russian town of Sudzha, government and military representatives from both countries have confirmed in their social network posts.
A video posted on Russian social networks, showed a group of paratroopers running while hunched over inside a steel pipeline and carrying ammunition and supplies.
Sudzha is located just 8 kilometres away from a key metering station on the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhgorod pipeline that was built in the Soviet time to deliver gas to Europe.
The pipeline has been out of use since the start of the year after Russia and Ukraine failed to agree a deal allowing the continued transit of Russian gas across the war-torn country to Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic and Moldova.
The link consists of five pipelines, each with a diameter of 1440 millimetres, which run parallel to each other as they cross the Kursk region. Located in Russia’s southeast, the region was captured by Ukrainian forces in August last year.
