Russian special forces crept kilometers 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, pro-Russian war bloggers said.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers seized about 1,300km2 of Russia’s Kursk region in August last year in what Kyiv said was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in potential negotiations and to force Russia to shift forces from eastern Ukraine.
Russia has been pressing the attack with some success in the past few days, with open source maps on Friday showing Kyiv’s contingent in Kursk nearly surrounded after rapid Russian advances.
Photo: Reuters
Russian advances last year, and US President Donald Trump’s upending of Washington’s policy on Kyiv and Moscow have caused fears among European leaders that Ukraine would lose the war and that 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 Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Feb. 28 descended into acrimony in front of the world’s media.
In its daily update on the situation in Kursk, the Russian Ministry of Defense yesterday said its forces had retaken the village of Lebedevka, as well as Novenke, a hamlet across the border in Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region.
Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said Russian special forces had walked kilometers along the inside of the major gas pipeline and some had spent several days in the pipe before surprising Ukrainian forces from the rear near Sudzha.
Sudzha is the home of major gas transfer and measuring stations on a pipeline that used to carry Russian natural gas into the Ukrainian gas transmission system for onward transportation to Europe.
Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors said a major battle was under way for Sudzha and that Russian forces had surprised Ukrainian soldiers by entering the area via a major gas pipeline.
Russian Telegram channels showed pictures of special forces wearing gas masks and lights, some using colorful Russian curses, along the inside of what looked like a large pipe.
A statement from Ukraine’s general staff said that Russian soldiers had used the gas pipeline in an attempt to gain a foothold, but airborne assault forces promptly detected them and responded with rocket, artillery and drone attacks that were destroying the Russian units.
Meanwhile, Ukraine yesterday said Russia launched more than 100 drones overnight, targeting the capital and several regions.
The wave of attacks followed deadly strikes Friday and Saturday in eastern and northeastern Ukraine that killed at least 14 people.
Additional reporting by AFP
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
‘DANGEROUS GAME’: Legislative Yuan budget cuts have already become a point of discussion for Democrats and Republicans in Washington, Elbridge Colby said Taiwan’s fall to China “would be a disaster for American interests” and Taipei must raise defense spending to deter Beijing, US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead Pentagon policy, Elbridge Colby, said on Tuesday during his US Senate confirmation hearing. The nominee for US undersecretary of defense for policy told the Armed Services Committee that Washington needs to motivate Taiwan to avoid a conflict with China and that he is “profoundly disturbed” about its perceived reluctance to raise defense spending closer to 10 percent of GDP. Colby, a China hawk who also served in the Pentagon in Trump’s first team,
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
RSS