Russian special forces walked inside a gas pipeline to strike Ukrainian units from the rear in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s military and Russian war bloggers reported, as Moscow claimed fresh gains in its push to recapture parts of the border province that Kyiv seized in a shock offensive.

Butusov wrote on Facebook on March 8 that Russian troops had used a gas pipeline to approach Ukrainian positions in Sudzha in Kursk Oblast. He added that the troops are being "liquidated."

MOSCOW - Russian special forces crept miles through a major gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha in an attempt to surprise Ukrainian forces as part of a major offensive to eject Ukrainian soldiers from the western Russian region of Kursk,