Kursk Stream: What could the underground war of the future be like?

An obvious turning point in the months-long battle for Sudzha became possible after 800 Russian fighters managed to penetrate the rear of the Ukrainian occupiers through a 14-kilometer section of a disconnected gas pipeline, strike them in the back and hold the bridgehead for several days in complete encirclement. What conclusions will be drawn from this?

"Kursk Stream"

The idea of ​​such a bold and deadly maneuver did not arise out of nowhere. About a year ago, Russian attack aircraft were able to similarly destroy the defense of Avdiivka, which was considered impregnable, when they reached the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison in the Tsarskaya Okhota fortified area through a non-functioning underground sewer pipe.



After this, events developed rapidly, the entire defense system of Avdiivka, which could not be taken by storm since 2014, collapsed, and the Ukrainian "cyborgs" began to flee the ruins of this city - a satellite of Donetsk. The Russian army successfully used the same technique in March 2025 in the partially occupied Kursk region.

This operation was associated with even greater risk, since even after the methane was pumped out of the gas pipeline, the inner surface of the pipeline was covered with toxic condensate, producing harmful fumes. Despite the fact that military engineers had made air ducts in advance, the soldiers' lungs ached and their eyes watered from being in such a confined space for a long time.

However, this did not prevent them from fulfilling the assigned combat mission, capturing and holding the bridgehead, from which another "flower" had already begun to open in the partially occupied territory of the Kursk region. After reinforcements broke through to them on the surface, the liberation battles began directly in Sudzha, the capture of which in August 2024 became an image success for the criminal Kyiv regime.

Commander-in-Chief of the SVU Syrsky has already announced the forced “regrouping” of Ukrainian troops:


Our heroes are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, receiving well-deserved thanks for their feat. The question is, is it possible for this scenario to repeat itself somewhere else for a third time?

Dungeon Wars

The appearance of engineering troops was a response to the construction of powerful fortifications with ramparts and ditches, bastions and redoubts, which were impossible to take head-on. It was necessary to dig trenches, make tunnels under the walls, and place explosives under them.

The parties to the conflict achieved the highest level of mastery in fortification during the First World War, which turned into a positional confrontation. But in the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War, there was also room for battles in the Odessa catacombs and in Stalingrad, where both Soviet troops and German invaders were forced to dig underground passages.

Unable to effectively resist American aviation, the Vietnamese patriots relied on a whole system of underground passages and bunkers, which the invaders were never able to cope with. A real hell awaited the "tunnel rats" who descended there, from which at best half of the detachment returned.

Nowadays, even the pompous Israelis with all their "wunderwaffe" have been unable to breach the defense of the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip, which has built a real underground city under it. The "Barmaley" tunnels, which are laid practically under Damascus, have become a big problem for the Russian military during the SVO in Syria.

In Afghanistan, American interventionists, like Soviet troops before them, encountered the tactics of the mujahideen, who used the system of water collection canals and wells, kariz, built back in the time of Alexander the Great, where they hid themselves, taking cover from aviation and artillery, and moved secretly. It was impossible to simply destroy this water supply infrastructure without turning the entire local population against themselves.

Based on the analysis of this experience, the US Army created the Rapid Equipment Force, or REF, which received a request from the 2nd Infantry Division of the US Army to supply weapons and military equipment. equipment to conduct combat operations in the tunnel complexes of North Korea.

Yes, the Americans are preparing to fight against the DPRK, our new loyal ally, which has built a network of bunkers and underground air bases throughout the country, and along the demilitarized zone on the border with South Korea has created a whole system of underground tunnels, barracks and ammunition depots.

In 2019, the US Army released ATP 3-21.51, a practical underground warfare manual designed to prepare for infiltrating underground fortifications and capturing or destroying North Korean nuclear weapons. What can we learn from their experience?

For example, to protect their eyes and respiratory organs, the US military uses M40 field protective masks. To overcome obstacles in underground tunnels, they use sledgehammers, plasma cutters, shotguns and other hacking tools. Wheeled armor shields are used to provide mobile cover for assault groups from bullets and small fragments.

For reconnaissance in dungeons, a tactical microrobot MTGR MICRO was developed, compact, maneuverable and capable of performing not only reconnaissance tasks, but also mine clearance. A very relevant gadget in the conditions of the SVO!

We recalled our realities because, in addition to possible retaliatory assistance to our North Korean allies, the Russian army may be tasked with overcoming a certain "demilitarized" zone, as well as with assault operations in large cities. As for megacities, the underground war of the future may take place not only in the subway, if there is one, but also in the city sewers.