Several Russians suffocate trying to enter Ukraine-controlled Kursk region via gas pipeline — Major Hetman

He discussed this on Espreso TV.

"This is not new; it's all well-documented in combat regulations and military textbooks. But what's interesting here is the execution. First, no serious military units could crawl through a pipeline—only small sabotage or reconnaissance groups. However, for them to use this pipeline, it had to be studied first. The commanders who planned this operation failed in their training. The first thing they should have checked was whether methane remained inside. Since January 1, gas has no longer been transported through that pipeline, but methane is lighter than air and would have remained trapped at the top. These pipelines are sealed, without ventilation, to prevent leaks," Hetman explained.  

He pointed out that because natural gas is odorless, some Russian soldiers were poisoned after their commanders failed to check for residual gas following the halt of transit.  

"Natural gas itself has no smell. The scent we associate with gas leaks is due to added chemicals to help detect them. The Russians should have used proper equipment to check for gas presence instead of relying on their noses. As a result, some of them were poisoned. Additionally, they failed to calculate how many people could fit per meter of the pipeline, how much oxygen they would need, and whether there was enough breathable air. There wasn’t. Many suffocated. To make matters worse, they were issued gas masks, which only further restricted their airflow," he added.  

Hetman emphasized that the Russian operation was poorly planned.  

"Another major flaw was that the pipeline had only one exit, meaning there were no alternative escape routes. As soon as the first soldiers emerged, Ukrainian forces were alerted and waiting for the rest—either to capture or eliminate them. In a way, they were lucky. Suffocating from methane, which has no smell, is an easy death—they likely just fell asleep. It’s a better fate than being torn apart by our troops," Hetman concluded.

• In the Kursk region, Russians attempted to infiltrate Ukrainian-controlled territory using underground passages. However, Ukrainian paratroopers set up an ambush and eliminated the enemy group.