ByCharles Kennedy– Mar 10, 2025, 3:30 AM CDT
Russian soldiers used a natural gas pipeline to launch an attack on Ukrainian forces in the Russian region of Kursk and push them out of three more local settlements, media have reported.
Citing a Russian war blogger, publications reported that the soldiers walked some 10 miles inside the pipeline to reach their destination.
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According to Euronews, which cited Ukrainian government sources, some of the soldiers spent several days in the pipeline before reaching the town of Sudzha where the attack took place. The pipeline was previously used to carry Russian natural gas to Europe. The Ukrainian sources cited by the publication said the Russians were losing in Kursk.
Reuters, meanwhile, said the Russians have recaptured three local towns, Malaya Lokhnya, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye and Kositsa, all north of Sudzha, citing a Defense Ministry statement saying that “The Russian Federation’s armed forces are continuing to rout groups of the Ukrainian army on the territory of Kursk region.”
The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod pipeline was until the end of last year used to transport Russian gas to Europe via the Ukraine. At the end of 2024, however, the Zelensky government refused to extend its contract with Gazprom despite some European leaders’ protests, and ended the last flow of Russian pipeline gas to Europe.
Imports of Russian liquefied natural gas, meanwhile, hit a record high last year, despite a stated efforts by European leaders to reduce and eventually end the dependence of the continent on Russian energy commodities.
The year saw imports of 16.5 million tons of Russian LNG, the Financial Times reported in December, citing data from Kpler. The amount beat the previous record of 15.21 million tons, set in 2022.
“What we have seen this year is surprising,” Ana Maria Jaller-Makarewicz, an analyst at climate outlet the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis told the FT. “Instead of gradually reducing Russian LNG imports, we are increasing them.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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