September 14, 2025
Ukraine’s defense operation near Kupyansk continues, with Russian soldiers being captured, the Ukrainian Army’s 10th Corps reported on Sept. 14, releasing footage from the area and fragments of interviews with prisoners of war.
“Near us there was a pipe. A gas pipe. At first, they didn’t let us in because a guard was stationed there. But when they started assigning tasks, they let us in. I saw it had been cut open, the top cover removed,” one Russian prisoner said.
https://www.facebook.com/10ArmyCorps?ref=embed_video
Another prisoner claimed troops were moving on electric scooters.
“They took us for instruction. Told us how to be in the pipe, what to do,” he said, adding that they were given anti-diarrheal pills, 1.5 liters of water, and then sent one by one into the pipe, where an electric scooter with a cart was waiting.
Asked if they knew they were headed for Kupyansk, the soldier said their phones had the AlpineQuest navigation app installed.
“When I came out of the pipe, we had AlpineQuest with marked points. There were two nine-story buildings next to a five-story one. Our initial task was to reach those high-rises, with five men securing each,” the Russian said in the video.
The 10th Corps noted in its description that the pipeline exit used by Russian forces is under Ukrainian fire control and does not lead directly into the city. It added that several pipelines run through the Kupyansk area, with three of four already damaged and flooded.
“A counter-sabotage operation is underway in the city, while search-and-strike operations continue around it,” Ukrainian defenders said.
According to the 10th Corps, Russian forces have lost 395 soldiers in two weeks of fighting, including 288 killed. Ukrainian troops neutralized 265 Russians near Radkivka and Holubivka and another 128 around Kupyansk itself.
In April 2023, Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian troops were using smartphones with AlpineQuest GPS software, which included coordinates of Ukrainian fire positions, attack targets, movement routes, and neighboring unit tasks.
On Sept. 12, DeepState analysts reported that Russian troops were using gas pipelines to enter Kupyansk, crossing the Oskil River. According to them, the Russians used wheeled sleds to move through the pipes, with the route to Kupyansk’s outskirts taking about four days.
On Sept. 13, DeepState said Russian forces had advanced into the city, posting a map showing their presence in residential neighborhoods.
The same day, Ukraine’s General Staff said Kupyansk and its outskirts remain under Ukrainian control despite Russian attempts to mass on the northern approaches. They confirmed Russian troops had used the pipeline but stressed that Ukrainian forces now control its exit, which does not lead directly into the city.